Star Wars: Vengeance From The Unknown: Treaty In The Darkness
by Tenkai Nankobo 101
Summary: The skirmish on Florrum has left Darth Maul and Savage Opress severely injured. Worse, they have been forced to the Unknown Regions of the galaxy. But when they arrive, they meet a Chiss warlord named Thrawn. In him, Maul sees another opportunity for the fruition of his plan. However, in Maul and Savage, Thrawn sees the makings of something more...
1. Author's Note and Title Page

**Author's Note and Commemoration**

Before I continue on with this book, I would like to give proper credit to Diego Feliu a.k.a. Forcystus5 for originating this brilliant idea and giving me the honor of writing it. A day of mass deliberation included the creation of the title and subtitles of both of these books but in the end, writing this series was left up to me. Nonetheless, I would like to extend my thanks to Diego for creating the idea and entrusting me with the fruition of the story by crediting him as a collaborator in this series. By the way guys, go read his stuff; it's really good and his style flows perfectly. That's all from me: enjoy this story as I enjoyed writing it! A little P.S. note, this is not part of my already-existent Darth Maul series but a completely different one with a different path for one of my favorite Sith pairings yet.

Star Wars: Vengeance From The Unknown

Treaty In The Darkness

By

Christopher Cleveland & Diego Feliu


	2. Prologue and Chapter One

**Prologue**

"Our engines have been compromised, get to the escape pod!" Darth Maul commanded his brother and apprentice, Savage Opress. "It's too late," Savage replied as he nursed the stump of his left arm which had been severed with a lightsaber by Obi-Wan Kenobi. "Trust me, apprentice!" Maul hissed as he rose up for Savage to help him. He himself had lost one of his mechanical legs at the hands of the Florumm pirates he had tried to recruit and now required mobile assistance.

It was assistance that his brother reluctantly gave as Maul swung an arm over his shoulder and both walked to the escape pod of their ship. When they made it in, Savage was quick to resume the nursing of his wound and resting but Maul could not do that yet. He punched in a code and detached their escape pod from the ship then piloted it a ways away from their wrecked transport. It was only when he had guaranteed that the pirates were not shooting at the escape pod and he had a course to go on that he himself relaxed.

Fatigue and defeat washed over the former apprentice of the sinister Darth Sidious. He had been in a self-imposed exile for the last twelve years after being sliced in half on Naboo by Kenobi. However, Savage had found him and with the aid of the mysterious Mother Talzin, Maul recovered his memory as well as his anger and desire for revenge. Though he had failed to kill Kenobi over Reydonia, he had been confident that he would destroy him and gather strength on Florumm.

Instead, the Jedi Knight had united his powers with the pirates and forced the Zabrak brothers on the retreat. Maul had stated that he and Savage would have another opportunity for his ultimate plan but now... he wasn't so sure. Was this his destiny: to be constantly defeated and left injured by Kenobi? Did his life conclude in being forever pursued by the Jedi and his former master as he had tried so hard to prevent from happening?

Or was there still a future that included power and glory beyond his greatest dreams? He certainly wouldn't find out if that was so with the pirates of Hondo Ohnaka. But what if he could find it out with someone outside the galaxy? Could he perhaps find his own path of conquest in regions not yet charted by the Republic or the Separatists?

Then, as if this question was the reason it was provoked, the image of a planet that was cold and lifeless on the inside but relatively serene from outside appeared. He knew that though many external atmospheres looked like what this outside one did, he knew there were almost none charted in the galaxy that had the interior of this one. Could this vision be a clue in his salvation and if so, how would he get there? Then it occurred to him that a lightspeed jump on this pod could get him to Polis Massa, a facility that could provide excellent medical services for himself and his brother.

Perhaps on Polis Massa, they could find out what that planet was even if they couldn't get medical service._ I'll see to it that at the very least, Savage gets some help for his arm_ he thought to himself. After all, Maul had only lost one mechanical leg and thus he lost no blood when it was blown off. But his brother had lost a biological limb when Obi-Wan defeated them, his wound was going to acquire a little more attention; as was the dent it put in his pride as each second passed without help.

**Chapter One**

"Something is stirring in the Underworld, crime families have had too much free reign with the Jedi busy fighting the Clone Wars. I fear it is a fertile place for Maul to flourish if he has indeed survived," said Obi-Wan Kenobi to Jedi Masters Yoda and Windu. "Hm, right you may be Obi-Wan but heed the words of the Chancellor we must. A personal matter this is for you, clouded your judgment may be.

"If he lives, reveal himself again Maul will and then swiftly we shall act," Yoda replied. "In the meantime, let us make preparations for the funeral of Master Gallia. It is long past time that we consecrated her body in the Temple while her spirit becomes one with the Force," Windu interjected. Obi-Wan nodded, knowing full well that leaving the body of a dead Jedi Council member unattended was a bad idea even for a short period of time.

But this one was different: Master Adi Gallia was once the mentor of a Jedi Obi-Wan had fallen in love with. And even before discovering his feelings for the apprentice known as Siri Tachi, Kenobi had been good friends with both her and Gallia. His own Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, was a good friend of Master Gallia and both the men and the women became exceptionally close for Jedi. Now Gallia, Qui-Gon and Siri were all dead with Siri being the only one who wasn't killed by Maul or his brother.

Were Yoda and the Chancellor right about his judgment being clouded by his personal experience with the Dark Lord? Could he be just overreacting because Maul had survived being sliced in half and now Kenobi needed to make sure the job was done? Or did he feel an underlying need for revenge that could only be satisfied with seeing the dead body of Maul and his brother? When he had used his lightsaber and Adi's in unison, he felt empowered both by the strategy of using Jar'Kai and the fear he sensed was growing within the brothers the more he used it.

Had he preyed on that fear as well as the surprise hidden beneath their courageous face when he first took on a Jar'Kai stance? If so, he had made himself no better than the brothers ever were just to bring justice to the closest things to parents he ever had. He had made himself like the Sith just so he could avenge Qui-Gon (the father figure of his life) and Adi (the mother figure) in one final battle. It was the exact same tactic Maul had used both on the duel in Raydonia and on Florumm.

He had so many questions racing through his head and not enough time in which to answer them before he had to clear his mind of thoughts unrelated to Master Gallia. After all, he was the one who knew her best that was still alive and the only capable of giving final words about her. His former Padawan Anakin Skywalker tried his best to assist Obi-Wan in calming himself but as always, Anakin's attempts added to the frustration rather than reducing it. The same could also be said of Anakin's own Padawan Ahsoka Tano who tried her best to aid him as well but found she couldn't.

"I'm worried for Obi-Wan, he hasn't said a word since going into the Chancellor's chamber with you," she said to Anakin before the procession. "Sometimes, no words are needed to mourn for those we loved that are now lost to us forevermore. He'll be all right, he just needs time to clear his mind of this whole situation with Darth Maul and his brother," he replied. Obi-wan mentally thanked his former apprentice for that compliment to his intelligence but did nothing else on that front.

It was when the procession finally began that everyone stood to attention to hear the oral obituary by Master Kenobi. But not before they first laid Adi's body to rest and watched as the hatch doors to her grave opened to let her into the pit awaiting her and closing when she was in. As the orange beam of light which symbolized the closing of her tomb shone, Windu called Kenobi to the front. "Please tell those in attendance at the funeral what you remembered of Master Adi Gallia before her death," he said.

Kenobi hesitated even as he continued walking to the stand, knowing that his affair with Siri had to remain secret but he also had to be honest. Thus, he concluded that he would have to give passing mentions of Siri (at most) to state that she and Adi had worked together with Kenobi and Qui-Gon. It was the right thing to do and besides, this was Gallia's obituary and not Siri's or Qui-Gon's. "I first met Adi Gallia when she and her Padawan Siri Tachi accompanied my Master Qui-Gon and I during the Zan Arbor Crisis," he began.

No one in the chambers interjected, having full knowledge of Zan Arbor and his obsession with harnessing the Force. This had gone on to include the "experimentation" done on Qui-Gon and Adi Gallia when he managed to capture them. As a result of that knowledge, combined with the irrelevance of the knowledge in this speech anyhow, Obi-Wan was allowed to continue. "She had an excellent fighting ability, her use of Shien being one of the most exceptional displays I have ever seen.

"But besides that, Master Adi Gallia was a fearless, charismatic, and wise leader who dedicated herself to the Order in every aspect of her life. She was a kind being who wouldn't stop to help someone else who was in need even if the circumstances of her mission were dire. My Master Qui-Gon respected her as a friend which was something I came to do for both her and her Padawan Siri, later on. Having said what I have said of her character and fighting ability, she did not deserve to die the way she had died at the hands of the Dathomiri Zabrak Sith Lord named Savage Opress.

"He was reckless, brutal, and primitive in how he used his double-sided lightsaber and desperate in most of his attacks. And I must admit that when I saw him gore her with his horns before skewering her with his blade, I could not hold back on my desire to kill him. However, I was forced to settle for having severed his left arm which has become a trophy of Hondo Ohnaka since. But I commemorated the memory of her by using her lightsaber in unison with my own against the brothers, defeating them as a direct result.

"Strength in character prevailed when strength in numbers gave way to it. But I will never forget the years of friendship and constant companionship Adi Gallia has given to me. She and her deceased former Padawan were there for me nearly as long as my former Master had been and that is something I don't take lightly. Neither should the rest of you who knew Adi Gallia and can relate your own experiences with her to mine.

"We will never forget you Adi Gallia, may the Force be with your spirit in the netherworld. And may you find peace in there that you did not have in your final years alive," he said, concluding his speech with that last comment. Though the Jedi around him applauded his speech, he knew that their applause were not because of the words of his speech. Instead, it was the power and the compassion with which they were said that truly moved them and impressed them to warrant applause.

After the applause rang through the chamber, those who also had knowledge of Adi Gallia or worked with her spoke. But Obi-wan did not want to stick around for this part of the his friend's entombment process. Instead, he wanted to meditate and see if by doing so, he could somehow track down Darth Maul's location or at least follow where he may go if he was still alive. He needed some hint of either solace in Maul's death or worry in that Maul had survived the skirmish on Florumm.

It was true that he no intention of disobeying the Council's will but he had to know anyway. After all, nothing said prepared like knowing the true status of your enemy's existence before those who commanded you did. He also decided that he would not relate what he found to Anakin, knowing how he had revered Qui-Gon as the father he never had. Anakin would be out for revenge for the death of Qui-Gon and Adi Gallia far more extremely than Obi-Wan.

Thus it was best not to discuss revelations of any kind with his former Padawan who had also worked with Gallia and Tachi when Kenobi was a collaborator. With his kind of attitude, Maul and Savage would be triumphing over the Jedi Order relatively quick as if that wasn't needed to worsen things he added to himself. With these thoughts and the goal of finding the former servant of the mysterious Darth Sidious, Obi-wan crossed his legs, inhaled and exhaled slowly, then began a trance. His quest for knowledge had begun and he was ready for anything that turned up as a direct result of it.

**Across the stars, far** from the prying eyes of the Jedi on Coruscant and the pirates on Florumm, laid a planet whose light-blue atmosphere was serene in appearance. However, it hid a harsher reality that included prolonged winters, icy mountains, and hurricane winds that brought death to those who did not have shelter. Here, one man made home whenever he was not on a path of conquest in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy. In the Core, he would have been called Thrawn but to his fellow Chiss he was known as Mitth'raw'nuruodo, a warlord whose own goals cast him into exile from his people.

But before leaving, he assured them that he would find a power great enough to not only aid him in the takeover of the Unknown Regions but also to help satisfy his revenge against them. Today, he had decided that weeks of archaeological expeditions into the caves surrounding his shelter were fruitless. But it was when someone had told him that they may have found an ancient Talisman, he asked immediately for a description. In addition, he also ordered that no one try to take it from where it was rested until he could find out what it was and decide if they should take it.

_If it is what I think it is then we have come to planet Irkalla, a stage for the end of the First Great Schism of the Jedi Order. And if we are on Irkalla, that can only mean that we have found the Kashi Mer Talisman_ he thought to himself. He knew the story of the talisman very well and had dedicated himself to its finding in the hopes of channeling its power for his conquest. It was true that the artifact was a power meant for a wielder of the Dark Side but he also knew about the legends behind it taking its own sentience and teaching those who bore it how to use it properly.

If all the legends turned out to be true and he could use the Talisman without being Force-sensitive, he had the powers of a god in the palm of his hand. All under the assumption that they were on Irkalla and had found an artifact matching the Talisman's description. When he asked what it looked like, what he got as an answer astounded him beyond comprehension. "It's prism shaped, grey in color, and matches the twenty by ten measure we were given," the expedition leader stated.

When Thrawn looked back in the massive book of ancient artifacts he kept in his headquarters, he realized the description the digger gave and the one in the book matched exactly. "Gentlemen, we have found the Kashi Mer Talisman whose ancient power was once used to aid the first defects of the Jedi Order in the First Great Schism. It has endured twenty-five thousand years, waiting patiently for us to find it and now, we shall extract it," he said. Then he gave the orders for the diggers already present in the chamber to begin removing the Talisman but doing so carefully in case it was fragile.

He was aware of the possibility that it was otherwise but he wanted to be safe rather than sorry. But that was when something went awry with the extraction of the Kashi Mer Talisman. The leader of the expedition told his men to halt their progress because he spied something "interesting". Thrawn kept him online so that he could see what the man was talking about despite the primitivity of his recording devices. The leader's cam turned to a corpse that had been found in the sarcophagus that contained the Talisman but slowly and noticeably, it began rejuvenating.

"Master, are you noticing how the heart was beating before we even touched the Talisman? It looks like whoever this is shall be coming to life for us to see thanks to the Talisman's power," he said. Thrawn had to admit that he wasn't expecting this but was glad to see that the artifact was working its magic on what had been believed to be a corpse. Unfortunately, all he got of the woman who was being rejuvenated was what she looked before she went into a fit of insane rage.

With a single surge of Force power from her hands combined with a scream that he knew to be that of the lunatic, Thrawn watched as the cam of his expedition leader went static. "Captain Lear, come in! Are you alright, are you alive? Come in!" he demanded.

Unfortunately, when the static lasted more than the few seconds of a technical defect the answer was clear. In a fit of crazed rage, the woman with the powers of the Force had killed his men and destroyed all of their equipment. Now, all he had was the cam recording of the footage that had played before him which was something he could use later if he could get a Jedi or some other Force-attuned agent there. I'm not going to be able to go in there until someone who is at least equally powerful as her clears it in advance or persuades her to come out of the cave with it he thought to himself.

Mitth'raw'nuruodo was young but he was no fool, even in the face of a possible defeat. Besides, he had worked for many years with those men and though he had plenty of opportunity to do so he had never viewed them as more than coworkers. Now they were gone and he was going to have to round up someone else to finish the job they started when their families had been heavily dependent on the success of their expedition as well as their safe return. If there's anything I despise, it's writing compensation checks for the families of those who die on these sorts of expedition but I must he remind himself sincerely.

As fate would have it, despite being unable to avoid writing the checks, a Force-sensitive was on his way to Thrawn. When he arrived, he would prove most useful to eliminating Thrawn's newfound pest and getting the Talisman out of that chamber. He had to have its power for himself, then and only then could he guarantee that he had victory in every battle and galactic dominion. Though he was patient, and unlike humans, could afford to wait for years to come he prefered not to.

**For several long hours** since the Florumm skirmish, Darth Maul and Savage had been flying in lightspeed toward the asteroid system known as Polis Massa. The wounds of Florumm were still fresh and Maul knew that he and his brother were going to have to be careful should they be met with armed confrontation upon arrival. Thus, he thought up an idea that his brother deemed primitive but knew would be effective with their present a plank and several bundles of strong wire, Maul made a basket and told his brother to sever his other mechanical leg at the knee.

Not only was this the same point where his other leg had been blown off by the pirates but this would also allow the fullest use of Maul's effective idea. "Now put me into the basket and walk outside once we land and are permitted off the ship. If the Polis Massans are armed, this will help us fight together despite our wounds especially when we spin around to deliver several cuts with our blades," he explained once they were cleared to land. "I don't understand, don't we just simply try to negotiate with them if philanthropy is their reputation?" Savage asked.

A few days before Florumm, Maul had asked Savage to research planets with an excellent medical history. During the research, he had learned of Polis Massa and how they were famed for not only their medical efficiency but their kindness and philanthropic philosophies. Maul considered this carefully as he prepared to answer his brother's question directly and bluntly. "Philanthropy can include helping the Jedi who may still be looking for us, they didn't really define what they meant by it, did they?" he asked in reply to his brother's question.

Savage shrugged as a sign that he yielded to that point in his brother's wise and thought-out argument. Without further ado, Savage lifted his brother into the basket before slinging it over his shoulder. One of the straps was especially designed to accommodate for his severed arm by having the option of being tightened if the Zabak wished it. It was something he did immediately and when the hatch opened to signal their arrival onto Polis Massa, what they saw astounded them.

Instead of armed security guards, they greeted by the medical staff Maul had requested upon entering the premises out of lightspeed. "Let us take you two to the medical center and quickly," the chief of staff stated upon their departure of their ship. Savage marched with the procession and his brother watched as those behind them quickly filled up the space that they had walked through just seconds ago. Something's not right about the way they do that; I can feel it he thought but did not say.

When they finally arrived in the medical center, Savage and Maul were both placed upon tables with the basket in between them on the floor. The doctors took a sample of Savage's blood, a procedure Maul thought unnecessary when they could see that he had lost a limb, and put it through a scanner. What came out was the measurements they would need in order to safely replace Savage's lost arm. It was at that point that Maul realized that the Polis Massans were good at medicine but their means were primitive and it was impressive that they had such a good record.

"Medically, your brother is completely healthy but for reasons of lack of experience, we can do nothing about replacing his arm," the doctor said. "Is there at least something you can do for my legs?" Maul asked. The doctor shook his head and added that there was nothing they could do without having to keep Maul here long enough for them to build replacements for him. "Then perhaps you could point us to a planet that may have the resources we need to restore our lost limbs, could you?" Maul inquired.

He couldn't believe that he had survived the skirmish on Florumm only to come to a medical facility that had almost no experience in handling the wounds he and his brother had taken. "That depends on whether or not you have one in mind, already. There are several military-based planets around that may have the facilities you need," the doctor explained to him. "There is one planet that I had in mind should this place not have the facilities I need," Maul admitted before describing the planet in his vision.

"You are looking to go to Irkalla? There is nothing there except for the the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force. Unless you have previous association with them, they're more likely to shoot you down then let you land," the doctor warned. "I think I'll take my chances with being shot down by the Chiss than stay here when nothing can be done to receive assistance," Maul replied.

"In that case, our fastest ship is docked in docking bay 3564-8B and is fueled for use at any time," the doctor said. It was after that a medical technician called the doctor over to look at something he had pulled from their databases. Judging by the tone of their speech and the mounting tension that Maul sensed, it was probably about them. Then he heard the worst thing that he could've heard the doctor say, "Destroy their ship and make sure our forces are ready to arrest them."

Immediately, Maul commanded Savage on his feet and the basket slung over his shoulders. As soon as Savage did that, Maul used the Force to catapult himself into a perfect fit. Then he grabbed his lightsaber's hilt and ignited the blade, letting the red light of it glow for a few moments. Savage followed his lead and ignited both sides of his double-bladed lightsaber and both brothers prepared to fight.

"Drop your weapons and come quietly with us or else there will be trouble," the doctor warned them. "You're right, there will be trouble but you will be the ones who are dead before the end of this, not us!" Maul growled. Then he signaled Savage to cut down the doctor and his technicians though not before one sounded the alarm and gave out the orders for the ship's destruction.

The rest of the Polis Massans were now on to the scene of the crime with the knowledge of who the brothers were, thus forcing them to fight. Their lives were on the line and the revelation of their survival to the Jedi was at stake. It was something they couldn't allow while still recovering their pride.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

The woman of the Kashi Mer Talisman's chamber stood in awe of the destruction she had caused in her awakening. And as she did so, she examined herself to make sure there were no signs of time's effects on her skin and her clothes. Who knows how long she had been in her trance that wasn't already dead by her hand? She smiled when she realized that her light-green robes were not damaged and the skirt that went from her waist to her ankles was intact.

Her clothes were extravagant when she had first obtained them and she was not about to ruin them now. As she admired her restoration and speculated on what might have happened while she was knocked out, she heard a masculine groan emanate from in the chamber. She immediately figured out where it was from based on how she heard it and marched to the source of it. Grabbing him by the collar, she demanded to know what was currently going on in the galaxy.

"The Jedi and their Republic are fighting the Sith and their Separatists. Don't you know about the Clone Wars?" the man asked. "My name is Arden Lyn and I've been in a non-sentient trance since the Schism! How am I supposed to know what you're talking about when that's the case?" she answered.

"Arden Lyn... of the First Great Schism? Well then, welcome to the future: twenty-five millenniums after your time to be precise," he said. "You're_ lying_!" she screamed. "Consult the Talisman and see if I am, Ms. Lyn or are you the one lying about your identity?" he replied.

In her anger, Arden snapped his neck but came to regret it as she decided to consult the Talisman. What it showed frightened her beyond all belief: several wars had happened since her time. After she was put into the trance, another Schism took place along with the rise and fall of several Empires ruled by beings known as the Sith. So this is the legacy of the Schism, these Sith characters she said.

Not only did she learn of a Second Great Schism that took place after her time, she learned of several other less significant wars but also of the Great Hyperspace Wars. She saw the expansion of the Hyperspace War in the form of Darth Vitiates Sith Empire as well as a Third Schism that took place thousands of years afterward. The Jedi haven't changed their ways much since my time, have they? she asked herself silently. Last but most certainly not least, she learned of the Jedi-Sith conflict that had occurred a thousand years before; besides that, there was the current Clone Wars.

The struggle between the Darkness and the Light had modified while she had remained in a trance begun in primitive times. When she asked the Talisman how much time had passed for all these wars to be fought, it confirmed what the dead man had stated of twenty-five thousand years passing. Defeated by the overwhelming gap between her time and this one, Arden fell to her knees and began to cry. All she had fought for, everyone she had fought with and come to love... all of it had long since been reduced to ash and dust easily blown away in the winds of time.

She was all the remained of the struggles that ignited a revolution that accumulated to this theater of the feud between the Jedi and their enemies. What had begun as a diplomatic attempt to achieve a revision of ancient principle had become the beginning of a twenty-five thousand year old reign of violence. It was a reign that knew few gaps of peace that many of the veterans of the preceding war lived through before fighting and dying in the next one. And what did she get out of all this bloodshed, misery, and death that she had helped start?

Her family was gone, her friends had long since been killed by either old age or by Jedi, and she was all alone in an alien universe. There was nothing she could do except sit next to the pedestal on which the Talisman laid and weep for her loss. As she wept, her heart began to feel the hatred she once had for the Jedi and vow silently to itself that Arden Lyn would carry out her revenge on the new Jedi. After all, her nemeses were all long dead and who but those who succeeded them could be the recipient of Arden Lyn's terrible and eminent wrath now that she had been revived?

**Darth Maul and his** brother Savage Opress were surrounded by Polis Massans armed with pistols and primitive rifles. "Brother, if we're going to get out of this one with our current conditions we're going to need to do a lot of spinning so that our blades can act like a disc. Yours will be spun around on your side while mine hacks and slashes at those in its reach," he whispered. Savage nodded and decided that he would initiate their plan by charging right into the Polis Massans nearest to them.

He spun his blade and cut several of the small aliens to pieces and spun around so that his brother could do the same. They repeated this cycle again and again, each one clearing most of the Massans both behind and in front of them as they pushed their way to the ship they needed. At one point, there was a massive clearing in their path and Savage bolted for it immediately. Meanwhile, his brother made sure that any Massan guards behind them were killed by their own bolts deflected at them with his lightsaber.

The alarms that blared as this violent massacre occurred were loud and high-pitched as was suiting to the Polis Massan ability to hear. "Attention, all security forces! Two wanted fugitives are making for hangar bay 3564-8B, stop them before they reach the ship!" a doctor stated on a microphone that carried his message through several speakers. It was at that point that Maul noticed something about Savage despite the good fight they were both putting up together.

His younger brother was beginning to grow tired, probably as a result of having fought Kenobi hours ago in combination to losing his arm and fighting the Polis Massans now. Neither brother had had any rest since they had escaped Florumm and Maul needed to make sure he and his brother made it to their new transport immediately. Luckily for Savage, their ship was only a couple dozen meters down the hall and once they overcame the seemingly endless horde of guards, they were free. "Draw upon the power inside of you Savage, it's the only way we'll make it out of this ring of rocks alive," Maul commanded from on his basket perch.

Savage knew what his brother meant and immediately took a deep breath before using the Dark Side to temporarily rejuvenate himself. Spinning around on one foot whenever it suited the need, Savage fought ferociously as his brother protected his back from those who would have shot him down had he been by himself. "Do not let them reach the ship, if they do it will be all over for us!" a commanding officer shouted.

Drawing upon his own power, Maul sought out the officer who said that and immediately snapped his neck with the Force. After that, he proceeded to hack down the soldiers closest to him as his brother spun them around assuming he wasn't deflecting their fire first. Both men now relied on the true powers of the Sith to cut, hack, and slice their way through the ranks of their tiny enemies. They no longer fought as master and apprentice as had been the way they fought Kenobi on Florumm.

Rather, they fought as brothers just as they had on the duel at Raydonia and on the rampage that followed. They viewed each Polis Massan soldier who opposed them the same way they had viewed those they had killed during those earlier rampages which had been the view of mere obstacles. As a result, both were grateful that no Jedi was present amongst these people who fought to protect what they had from men who would forcibly take it. I will escape this mess with my brother before the Jedi learn about us; they will not live to tell Kenobi of our survival Maul thought to himself as he and Savage continued their slaughter.

Another pitiful thing that Maul had noticed about these people was that while their quantity was impressive, their quality was sloppy. They knew how to fire blasters at the brother but they knew nothing of getting out of the way when lightsabers came down on them. As a result, several were decapitated, bisected, or severely mutilated before the brothers were through. "Unbelieveable, they've already wiped out nearly half of our entire security force by themselves!" another commander stated.

Maul smiled, sensing the fear that was mounting in the survivors and preying on it to fuel himself and his brother with power. He relied on one of Sidious' earliest teachings which was that fear attracted the fearful and should be used as an ally, not an enemy. "Danger is real, my apprentice but fear is a thought you choose to create when faced with danger. It is by overcoming fear and demanding that it'd be your ally that you have won half the battle against any opponent," Sidious had once said to him on the matter.

Maul knew that he and Savage had the skillful half of this same battle covered but now that he had converted his enemy's fear into an ally, victory was theirs for sure. And it was when Maul began using the fear to strengthen himself and Savage, that the former noticed the latter regaining both momentum and strength. Now, Savage and Maul were both weapons of mass destruction that could not be stopped even when one was legless and the other was missing an arm. "Our wrath upon you all is imminent!" Maul shouted to further boost the fear and the quantity of fuel they had to use.

When they weren't being cut down, the remaining security guards began making a hasty retreat from the brothers. Their fear had amounted too greatly and too quickly for them to keep the fighting going for more than a few seconds at best. "Is this the best Polis Massa has to offer me? The pirates of Florumm were much better fighters than you all!" Maul mocked, again preying on the fears and anxieties of his tiny new enemies.

"Stand and fight you cowards! Stay where you are!" several officers shouted repeatedly. "You don't get it do you? We are Sith Lords!" Maul told them before he cut them down while Savage dealt with more retreating troops.

Those who did not stand around and get cut down dispersed like the cowards they truly were after that. Glorious slaughter combined with the retreat of cowards into the darkness awaiting them._ Now this is the true means by which Sith must win their battles, not through the hiding and toying of bureaucracies of my former Master's ways_ Maul thought to himself as he took in the scent of the slaughter. Victory was near now, he could feel it in the air and see it in the sight of their means of escape of Polis Massa's largest asteroid (the placeholder of the medical facilities).

"Savage, run to the ship while the coast is clear and get us in. I will take over the controls once we're in and you can recover your strength. After we're in lightspeed, I will join you in doing that same thing," he ordered. Savage did just that despite having to use the Force to throw crates at several security guards who still stood to fight.

And while he did that, Maul deflected the last of any fire that came from behind his brother or to the sides of them. He even aimed his blade so that the bolts reflected back at those who fired them and burned deep holes into their heads, killing them instantly. And when Savage finally ran up the hatch and onto the inside of the shuttle, Maul deactivated his blade and waited for his brother to close the ramp before climbing out of the basket. On Maul's order, Savage threw his brother into the pilot seat where he punched in the coordinates for Irkalla and set the ship to jump to lightspeed upon clearance to do so.

Then Maul piloted them out of the hangar bay and back into the deep void of space that stood between them and Irkalla. It was just before the jump that Maul noticed a problem that compromised future use of this ship. The hyperspace engine had not been finished and the explosion that would come once they were out would destroy the rest of the ship's engines. With this in mind, they would be stranded on Irkalla unless they could find yet another ship that had better capacity for travel.

_Better that than not having any means by which to escape these crazed little dwarves_ Maul thought to himself. He didn't bother to tell Savage, who would guess that they had been hit by the security guards or whoever ran Irkalla upon arrival anyhow. Besides that, he didn't want to give his brother a reason not to recover his strength while he could anyway. And now that they were on their way to the planet of their choice, Maul decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to join him in that rest.

**For a long time, Thrawn** had been deliberating how he would acquire someone who could hold their own against the woman in the caverns. He couldn't go himself since he would die upon being sighted by her but he couldn't sit and do nothing either. Then a fellow officer came up to him and informed him that a ship was just coming out of hyperspace with its engines blown out. He knew that unless the passengers were Force-sensitive, they would never survive a crash to the surface.

"Order a rescue team to be on standby until they land and act immediately. Whoever is inside will be needing our help once the ship crashes down on this planet," Thrawn ordered immediately. Perhaps this was his omen from the stars, the arrival of the one who would solve his dilemma with the woman in the cave who would not surrender the Talisman. He had to have its power for himself and perhaps the solution to his dilemma had fallen from the skies of Irkalla.

When he received the signal that the rescue team was on standby, he told them to wait until they had crashed down and not a moment sooner. "The passengers and the pilot will need to be extracted as soon as they land so that we may best save their lives," he added. Then he sat and waited to see how this little event would play out. After all, it was not everyday that ships dropped out of hyperspace into Irkalla let alone crash into it the way this one did.

**Arden Lyn felt the** disturbance in the Force as deeply as the Talisman did. The latter symbolized the disturbance by letting it's lime-green light flash sporadically. Arden felt the disturbance as a pain in her heart and she knew it could only mean one thing. That at least one other bearer of the power of the Dark Side had landed on Irkalla even if the means by which they did was abnormal.

_Perhaps they would serve well as an ally that I can rely on in this new age of war and misery. The Jedi would not expecting one of their nemeses to conjure a twenty-five thousand year old being such as myself_ she thought to herself. From behind a small crater in the caverns, she hid herself in, Arden could see that it was storming outside and could see the puddle that formed from the rains pouring in. And it was during a flash of lightning that shone through that she noticed something directly beneath the hole, erected against the wall that held it above the ground.

It was a pedestal that, though similar in design, was shorter than the one that held the Kashi Mer Talisman but unlike it held a sword from her days. The blade was trapped in a scabbard much like how she remembered the weapons being designed and she recognized the stamps on the hilt to be her own. Smiling, she walked toward it, glad that she had obtained something that was familiar from her past beside the dark artifact that kept her alive and had rejuvenated her body upon shining on her. Savoring the moment, she slowly extended her hand outward until it clasped the scabbard and her fingers wrapped around its cold wooden skin.

After ceremoniously raising it from its stand on the pedestal, she brought it close to herself and admired how much the art remained intact despite years of dust and erosion. Then came the ultimate test of her memory of how to use the blade when she took her free hand and let it rest on the hilt of the blade. When she did that, both holding the hilt and the scabbard felt as familiar to her now as it had been when she last held one in battle against the Jedi. It was at this moment that, with great enthusiasm, she pulled on the hilt and withdrew the blade from the scabbard as easily as she had twenty-five millenniums before.

The feeling of the blade coming out and reviving its faint orange glow was like a gulley of peace washing over the dry riverbanks that Arden Lyn had become. With this weapon, she felt invincible once again and knew that with it and the powers of the Dark Side, she could fare in this new universe after all. It may have forgotten her and allowed her deeds to fall into history but she would make sure that they were remembered once more. At last, revenge on the descendants of those who imprisoned her would come delivered at the edge of a glorious weapon of untold power.

**Maul and Savage** **knew** they weren't going to last too much longer in the ship now that they had crashed landed. So while fitting himself into the basket, Maul directed Savage to cut them an opening by which they can escape out of their deathtrap. Savage did exactly that and even stepped outside the ship to see where they had landed on Irkalla. "Brother, there's a civilization in the distance and a few lights that are growing bigger and bigger," he said when he came back in.

Rescue shuttles at the likeliest if there's someone who's seen us crashing onto the surface of the planet Maul thought to himself. "Very good Savage, that means we don't have long to wait before we can get assistance," he said aloud. He laid back and decided it was best for Savage to drag the basket out with him in it before getting himself back out of the ship as well. And that was precisely what they did on Maul's command which occurred after he had a chance to see the outline of rescue vehicles approaching through the ship's window port.

For their sakes, Maul hoped that whoever the people were that lived on Irkalla were nothing like the Polis Massans in the hostility. He would've included the weakness of the Polis Massan security force, of which nearly half of the four thousand officers were killed by the brothers, were it not that they were rare. With few exceptions, there was no security force in the galaxy that didn't put up a valiant fight even when their ability to fight was weakened significantly for any reason. His train of thought was confirmed when he recognized the people coming aboard their ship as members of the military branch of the Chiss Ascendancy, a powerful military force in the Unknown Regions.

And unlike Savage, Maul had seen the power of the Chiss Ascendancy firsthand when Sidious sent him to persuade two Chiss nobleman to war with each other. The evidence he had used that would justify it had not only ignited the war but had ignited so quickly that Maul actually found himself on one of the battlefields merely days afterward. Though he had survived with many scars and rips in his robes, he knew that the Chiss Ascendancy was not to be trifled with as far as their military was concerned. "We're going to get you two to safety, this ship's going to blow any second!" said a Chiss soldier who was probably the commanding officer according to the medals he bore on his chest.

Maul couldn't argue with that, in fact, he agreed wholeheartedly that the ship would explode and that the Chiss would get them out of there. First, the rescue team took Maul in his basket and placed him in a comfortable seat on one of their speeders. Next, they placed Savage next to him in a manner that would allow him to rest his strength and his severed arm until they could get him help. After that, they brought a few hoses and tried to dose out the fire to almost no avail.

When everyone was seated in the speeders, the machines were immediately turned around and directed back to the city. It was during this time that Maul decided to make his request for an audience with their leader (or leaders if they had more than one). "All in good time sir but for now, you two have to rest and gather your strength," their officer stated as he drove. Though Maul wanted to argue, his body reacted to the word 'rest' by near instantly shutting down into a state of hibernation that healed.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

"I request an audience with your highest authority figure or figures," the red Zabrak had said. "All in good time sir but for now you two have to rest and gather your strength," Thrawn's officer had replied. Thrawn himself watched these events transpire from a datapad that allowed him to see the surveillance footage of the wreck. He had to admit that though trained from early years to act swiftly and decisively, his subordinates never ceased to surprise him with their professionalisms.

_They have learned well from their instruction on whatever world saw their conception and birth_ he confessed silently. "What do you intend to do about the request for an audience, excellency?" his subordinate Creon asked. "For now, I will ponder it while they recover their strength. I will give you an answer that is to be delivered to them by word of mouth within the hour or so," Thrawn answered.

"Do you think these Zabrak warriors may be the solution to our problem in the caverns? My men reported that they saw lightsabers in their possession when they pulled them out of the wreckage. Only two groups of people in the universe carry such weapons: the Jedi and their Sith enemies along with those cults created by their war against each other," Creon inquired. "Nothing is for certain although the pest in the caverns could be used as a bargaining chip with these two if an alliance with me is their desire," Thrawn explained.

Creon stood there, pondering his superior's words for a moment then requested if he could find out who they were before Thrawn decided to fulfill their request. "Do that: if they're Sith, it will be interesting to find out why they have not sided with Count Dooku and his Separatists. If they're Jedi gone rogue, it will also be interesting to find out what made them leave the Order and come here," Thrawn said with a nod. "And once I confirm who they are, do I ask them if they would be willing to do a favor in exchange for an alliance; I'll state that the details would be left to you if you decided to see them," Creon asked.

Thrawn nodded and dismissed Creon to go about doing that while he pondered whether or not to see the warriors. There were many details to be sorted out if he said yes to an audience and to an alliance. Firstly, how would he convince that he was their ally while still working from the shadows? Would they want him to step out with them and officially declare his support of them?

Or would they merely want a start in their quest to whatever redemption they sought in which case he could lend them a ship and make a few recommendations in the way of allies? He knew that while many systems fell loyal to either the Confederacy of Independent Systems or the Galactic Republic, there were those that were neither and/or hated both. In addition, he also knew that there were those who would be more than willing to turn to either one for profit unless a better opportunity was given. If they are Sith, they will need a way of relying on the hatred and selfishness of such organizations or at the very least, utilizing it for their purposes he thought.

Thrawn knew he had all the unmarked credits that the warriors would ever need should bribery be an issue with these new allies. However, was he willing to use these with little guarantee that he would ever see them repaid? Were these brothers a worthy investment or would they be another pointless financial venture on his part? And worst of all, would he have to sacrifice his search for the Kashi Mer Talisman in exchange for their alliance?

It was then that he confessed that Creon using it as a bargaining tool was a good idea. If one or both of these warriors were willing to get it for him, he could not only have two powerful warriors but he could also have the Talisman and quite possibly the power of the woman to offer them. In the end, he decided that the brothers would be worth the gamble that he would be taking with his life, his crew, and his resources. "Creon, when the red one wakes up, tell him that I will see him thirty standard minutes after," Thrawn stated into his comlink.

"It will be done, your excellency," Creon replied from his own. Thrawn definitely appreciated the efficiency with which Creon and everyone else acted. It more than compensated for the inefficiency that he had seen amongst the Jedi during the Outbound Flight expedition. However, he had a feeling that this would be nothing like the thrill of fighting the Jedi of that expedition and sending them back home.

**Maul had no idea how** long he and his brother had been in sedated rest but when he was told that it had been three days, he was not surprised. What did baffle him was that the officer from the wreck was standing next to his bedside. "Admiral Thrawn of the Chiss Coalition will see you in thirty minutes. That shall give you plenty of time to regain your thoughts before speaking to him," he stated.

And just as he turned to leave, Maul stopped him to ask who he was. "My name is Creon, I have been watching over you and your brother these past three days. Your brother is far worse for wear than you are probably because unlike you, the limb he lost was flesh and blood," the officer replied. "We are Sith, it's in our nature to look worse for wear in order to fool our enemies," Maul stated.

"Is this elaborate disguise you speak of so convincing that you fool yourselves? Unless that's the case, your brother is worse for wear to the point of no ability to fight at the moment," Creon inquired. Then he left after repeating that Maul had thirty minutes before the Admiral would see Maul as he walked away. The zabrak's head was still spinning from all the sedatives but he was always a quick healer and it didn't even take him ten minutes for full restoration.

For the other twenty or so minutes, Maul ate the meal that Creon had ordered for him and was glad to realize he had a few minutes to clean up before meeting Thrawn. This man will be interesting, I have heard of his success as a military leader on many an occasion. Rumor has even reached my ear that he has the capacity to command his soldiers effectively enough to kill Jedi Masters he thought silently to himself. He would not want to confirm these rumors just yet and resolved to just form the alliance first if he could then find out the truth of his military capacity.

But he found himself wondering if he should be worried for Savage or if the Chiss would do that for him. Maul had watched helplessly as Kenobi nearly broke his brother's leg before severing his arm from his body. When it happened, Maul had felt the pain of being sliced in half all over again for brief seconds and had given into the anger that compelled him to throw the Jedi away from them. It was as he was thinking about this that he noticed a man with far more metals than Creon approaching and guessed it was Thrawn, a guess confirmed by his introduction; it was at this moment that he was glad that Savage was right next to him despite being in a sedative trance, still.

"Greetings Zabrak warrior, I am Thrawn. Leader of the Galactic Coalition and Governor of this system. How may I assist you?" the man asked. "I am Maul and this is my brother Savage; tell me, do you dream of galactic domination?" Maul answered.

The thought of such wealth and power had crossed Thrawn's mind but he didn't let this show. Meticulously, he replied, "Do you ask because such domination is your desire as well?" Maul nodded and added that his previous attempts had failed miserably. "Galactic conquest has been in my sights for years but I have had no way of knowing if the galaxy is ripe for a new order," Thrawn admitted.

"Perhaps, with your aid, we can arrange that," Maul suggested. _Yes, yes you can_ Thrawn thought silently. "I will help you if I can but first, I must request a favor as proof of your value," he said aloud. "I'm listening," Maul stated as he leaned forward.

"In the far northwest regions of my domain on Irkalla, there is a cave in which lies an ancient Dark Side artifact from the First Great Schism of the Jedi Order. It is called the Kashi Mer Talisman and was last wielded near the end of that great war by a woman named Arden Lyn," Thrawn began. "I've heard the legends, which tell it was lost with her forever? Have you found it?" Maul asked.

Thrawn nodded before continuing with what he had in mind to say. "We have not only found it but we have also accidentally revived Arden Lyn herself. She's already wiped out a crew of thirteen sent down there to obtain the Talisman upon finding it and guards it well. In addition, she refuses to leave the cave for even a moment: kill her or persuade her to join us but either way bring back the artifact," he added.

"And when I do, you agree to assist me and my brother in return?" Maul asked. "I will provide you with a ship, mechanical replacements for your limbs, and whatever else you may require. To be generous, I am even willing to provide you with a robe to wear for your mission. You cannot be walking the cold length of Irkalla in naught but your bare skin and mechanical apparatus," Thrawn answered.

"So long as nothing serious happens to my brother while I am away, I agree to do as you request. Let him stay here and continue his recovery while I go to this cave and complete the mission," Maul replied. "You have my word of honor that your brother will be just fine while you're away," Thrawn said. They shook on it and Thrawn ordered for the robe and the artificial legs Maul needed to be delivered immediately.

"These people are efficient in everything they do and the deliverers of your new gear will be no different," Thrawn assured him. And as promised, the Chiss subordinates showed up in mere minutes with mechanical legs that would be welded unto Maul and a robe for him to wear. The welding was quick and after a brief test run, Maul was confident in his footing with the new prosthetics. Additionally, the robe was a perfect fit which pleased him all the more and hid every single speck of machinery below his waist.

"I will return in no time with your precious artifact and hopefully a new ally for our alliance," he vowed as Creon led him away from the Admiral and to the speeder which would take him to the cave. _Arden Lyn's power combined with that of the Kashi Mer Talisman will be quite useful. Especially since she is the only one who knows how to safely and effectively use it_ Thrawn admitted to himself. And strange as it was, that thought made Thrawn wonder if they thought too much and did too little; something Maul's return would likely answer if he succeeded.

**Arden Lyn sensed the** dark presence that had landed on Irkalla and knew it was moving. Whoever it was that caused it, they would not be allowed to obtain the Talisman without a fight if it was what they sought. She would see to that herself even if in this new galaxy, whoever she fought might be more powerful than her. The katana had done more upon its first rebirth than restore her memories on how to use it effectively.

It had also restored her confidence that this new alien universe was not without the things she was most familiar with from her day. Though she wished Xendor was here with her now, she remembered what he did in most situations and used that to further fuel her confidence._ I will avenge you, my love. On that I swear the rest of my natural life so long as I have it to live_ she promised in silence.

The wrath of the lone veteran of the First Great Schism awaited all who were willing to see their fate alone in this cavern. She would not only keep the Talisman for herself but perhaps she could begin a collection of skulls from all those she killed. It wouldn't be a bad idea to begin leaving a path of death that would inspire fear into those who would destroy her. But the man she was going to meet next, was destined for much more than to have his skull mounted; he was destined for true greatness in this new universe.

However, while Arden sensed the approach of the dark presence on Irkalla, something else came as well. It was a curious sensation that tingled her spine almost as much as the thrill of battle. The only difference between that and whatever this was had to be that this involved a life. Better yet, she sensed that whoever was causing it was in a trance much as she had been for twenty-five millenniums.

_Perhaps after I deal with the source of the approaching presence on Irkalla, I'll seek this one out. It would be interesting to see if I have an ally out in the galaxy waiting for me to free them_ she thought before stopping herself from consulting the Talisman for answers again. Much as she loved the life it took and the knowledge it provided her, the price had been too great the first time she touched it after she had been revived by its power. She still needed time to adjust to what it showed her before she made any other moves except to defend her keep from the approaching enemy.

**Maul had to admit** that despite the efficiency of the Chiss, the speed at which his transport went made them look even better than on-foot travel might have. He had only been on Irkalla for a couple days, almost a week to be precise, and already he had noticed so much that he needed to learn. These people were as interesting in their efficient and effective ways as they were in their mystery. Did they deliberately keep a veil of shadows over themselves in which case they did it better than his master?

Or was there something they wanted to hide from the galaxy that could only be hidden if they first hid themselves? Either way, Maul knew that if the Jedi could not penetrate through the veil these people put up, they stood no chance against Lord Sidious' cloaking abilities. The ironic thing about that was that these people hid themselves miles away across the stars, which the Jedi could see. And it was made even more ironic considering that Lord Sidious was right next to them and they still couldn't see him for who he was.

_Perhaps a detail of my revenge shall be revealing Sidious' double life to the galaxy. It will satisfy my anger and hatred for him to know that I have ruined his chances for galactic rule. After all, it would leave a vacuum wide open for me to take the mantle of power for myself_ he thought, smug in his plans within plans. And why not ruin the illustrious career of the man who promised Maul everything but gave him nothing?

Why not ruin the man who had raised him from infancy into the ways of the Dark Side only to discard him shamelessly? Kenobi may have sliced Maul in half and provoked his doom in that manner but Sidious sealed his own fate by simply leaving Maul to rot. Both would pay and perhaps this alliance with Thrawn and his Chiss Coalition would work to his advantage as far as seeing that happened went. If given the tools to do so by Thrawn, Maul could knot a noose that would ensnare the necks of both Kenobi and Sidious in succession.

Sidious had created Maul only to hope that he had been destroyed on Naboo. But now, the creation would return with a vengeance and bury the creator in his own deceit. The Jedi would fall too but not before they had a chance to turn their blades on the Dark Lord and destroy him. And the pleasure Maul took in that thought skyrocketed before he realized that the cave was just barely visible in the horizon of Irkalla's dark, stormy skies.**  
**

"We will be arriving at the entrance of the cave in at least five minutes. Just a little warning that the entrance is as far as I am ordered to go with you. Once I drop you off, I am to report back until you signal your success but in the meantime, you're on your own once you leave this speeder," the driver warned. "That will work just fine for me but thank you anyway for the notification," Maul replied calmly.

He was used to doing things alone or with just Savage as his partner. After all, Sidious had seldom wanted to get his hands dirty and often assigned Maul to jump into the filth for him. Despite the disadvantages that came with that, Maul had to admit that a perk was the bookstyle education he received while recovering helped compensate immensely. Because of it, he turned from a deadly warrior with skills to kill Jedi Masters single-handedly to one who could bend entire worlds to his will.

It was this same cunning that had allowed him to take Black Sun's then-current leader so stupendously that the shockwaves were still felt to this day. Thankfully, they had recovered enough to where if he desired an army and needed recruits from them, he could make sure it was done. And the more he thought about rallying criminal organizations and their resources, the more it suddenly made sense to him.

After all, most of them hated the Republic and their Separatists enemies despite having no hand in the fate of the Clone Wars. If Maul could offer them that hand he needed, he could rally groups like Black Sun in a heartbeat. In turn, they could recruit allies who were anti-Republic and anti-Separatist and thus unite them under a single glorious cause that saw to the death of both sides. For once, instead of fighting each other for greater land or wealth, they would fight their higher enemies to have it all.

The entrance to the cave was soon before him while he thought about all of this and he was excused to leave the speeder. "Thank you for the ride, I will be sure to contact you when my mission is a success," Maul told the driver. It was then that the Chiss driver nodded and sped off to obey the orders of his high authority, Thrawn.

**For the first time** in nearly four days, Savage Opress was rising from a sedated sleep. Across from him, he could see engineers working on a limb probably designed for him based on its bulk. Where the hell am I? Am I in the realm of the dead or do I still live? he asked himself as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"About time you woke up, we were just finishing customizations on your new arm," one of the nurses told him. "Am I dead or what?" he asked as he rubbed his face and head. "You're feeling some of the side effects of our sedatives but you're plenty alive," she answered. Savage reached for his lightsaber but the nurse asked him to leave it for a moment, until they tested out his new arm.

He made sure he was near it in case something went wrong and he was attacked but he nodded for the procedure to begin. "You may feel a little jolt when we attach your new arm to you but it should work just fine besides that," the nurse told him. He nodded his understanding and held out the stump for them to make the insertion that would improve his abilities tremendously. As foretold, he felt the jolt but immediately began to be able to move it around as though it were his real arm.

Everything about the hand's sensitivity to sensations and the thickness of the arm fit with him perfectly. "Let's test out the strength of your new enhancement. According to our engineers, it's designed to punch through durasteel and weaker metals. Anyone fighting you would need a cortosis or Mandalorian-Iron shield to withstand the worst effects," a man suggested as he raised a sheet of thick durasteel.

Savage liked the idea of being able to do that and immediately raised his fist into a punching position. When he swung, the mechanical hand tore through the sheet and even had enough momentum to give the engineer holding the sheet a bloody nose. "Damn, the punch is stronger than I thought. Feel free to use your lightsaber to see how it really feels on you," he said as he wiped the blood away.

Savage did just that by hacking, twirling, and spinning in empty air with both sides of his blade. But it was at that point that he noticed something was wrong with the way they were looking at him. He remembered the Polis Massans looking at him similarly before they attacked him and his brother...


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

When Thrawn had sent Maul away for the caves of Irkalla, he had left out one important detail. He was putting Maul and his brother Savage in a trial that, if passed, completed their Test of Merit. In Chiss tradition, whenever an alliance was formed between two factions, one of them tested the other in two or three trials. If one or two of them were passed, the tested side would then pass the Test of Merit. While Maul was away doing the Trial of Skill the brothers would need to complete, he was about to test Savage in the Trial of Strength.

If both survived, they passed the Test of Merit and proved even worthier of an alliance with him. He had no intention of killing either one but he made sure this soldiers shot to kill if Savage got too out of control under their current settings. The likeliness that Maul would die fighting Arden was at least half and if he had, he didn't want an uncontrollable beast wreaking havoc in revenge. He would save what he could and withdraw whatever aspects he could if it was what it took to defeat the brothers if he had absolutely had to do that.

"Be careful of these men, the lightsabers they came with are not toys," he warned his crew. After that, he deactivated his comlink and decided to sit out what would happen. He knew that Maul and Savage were probably not to be trifled with now that their wounds healed. However, he now wanted to know just the full depth of their power or at the very least, have an idea of it.**  
**

**Using his lightsaber to** light the way, Maul journeyed down the depths of the Irkalla cave network. Following the path Thrawn had inserted into his databank, he initially saw naught but empty darkness beyond the glow of his blade. But then, he began to see wear the archaeological finds had picked up for the crew. He also saw the beginnings of where the team became emboldened not just to please their master but the greedy desire for greater wealth.

Yes, the Kashi Mer Talisman had been this team's objective but as they continued to dig towards it, their greed slowly consumed them. Fueled by their pride in their abilities and the pride of Thrawn, they had dug a trap from whence they would never return. Maul knew now what the team had awakened in the darkness of these connected tunnels: a shadow from the First Schism. A shadow that was now given form and substance once again and would reign untold terror if unleashed upon the galaxy.

That was when, from the depths of the treasure filled void of empty space, something lunged with a blade much like his own and attacked. He dodged due to the speed of the attack and when he regained his footing, he watched as whatever attacked him disappeared in a green mist. "You have risked much to seek out the Kashi Mer Talisman, the greatest treasure of Arden Lyn," the voice said. He heard as it echoed through the tunnels though he knew these were only echoes in the Force rather than of sound through the cave.

"I've come to obtain the Talisman and only the Talisman unless Arden Lyn is willing to form an alliance with me. Though her hatred is more ancient than mine, I hate the Jedi as much as she does," he exclaimed through the cave. "The Dark Side enslaves those who wield it and in turn, they enslave others including each other. Arden Lyn serves no one but herself and the Dark Side of the Force," the voice replied.

After that, the figure from before struck yet again with the same speed and ferocity. It also disappeared in a green mist again, becoming one with the darkness once more. "You will not serve anyone but yourself and the Dark Side if you choose to ally yourself with me. Your knowledge of Jedi ways combined with the power embedded in you and the Talisman will see our victory.**  
**

"I need allies and you need someone who can bring you up to speed in the changes in the galaxy since your time," he said. "The Talisman has already revealed those changes to me. What makes you think I am willing to step out of this cave to renew my fight against the Jedi?" she asked. "Does the motive of revenge suffice; it is one my brother and I happen to share with you," he answered.

"You know nothing of revenge! Once I was a pride and joy of the Jedi Order, a blind fool playing the part of savior and beloved sister. But when my husband Xendor and I questioned the old ways, we were betrayed by all who professed to love us except for a handful. My husband was killed while fighting against the cruelties he sought to end and I was put into a trance that was only undone a few days before.

"You know nothing of revenge, you know nothing of despair! And you most definitely know nothing of death itself!" she hissed. As her voice continued to echo through the Force, Maul decided to reminisce his own experiences with her. "I was sliced in half by a Jedi Knight named Obi-Wan Kenobi, twelve years ago.

"Until a few months before, the Dark Side had consumed my mind in exchange for my survival of such a harsh blow. I was cursed with the despair of going mad with revenge and hatred for Kenobi until my brother found me. With the aid of the witch Mother Talzin, my mind and my legs were restored and I struck back against the man who professed to destroy me. Though I know nothing of your pain, I know plenty in the way of revenge and despair," he replied.

"Then tell me, what is the name of the current order that wields the Dark Side?" she asked just before striking again in the same manner as before. "My brother and I are a branch of the order you speak of called the Sith. Their rule is simple: only two are there, no more no less. A Master to embody the power of the darkness and an Apprentice to crave it; my brother is also my apprentice," he answered. "Then you may yet make a worthy ally for the Talisman has told me of the emergence of the Sith and has told me of the birth of the Clone Wars," she stated.

"Then you must know who I am and know why I have come besides seeking out the Talisman?" he asked. "You wish to gain allies to form a new army to fight against the Jedi enemy we share as well as your former Master, the mysterious Darth Sidious," she answered. "As your artifact may have mentioned, I attempted to gather an army on the planet Florumm to no avail," he admitted. "The Talisman does not tell me what happens in the lives of individual people nor does it tell me the participants of any war and why they fought and died.

"It only tells me that these things have passed since my days fighting in the First Schism of the Jedi Order," she snarled. _Then it doesn't tell you what my weapon is or what it can do to your sword_ he thought to himself with a smile. It was then that Maul became inspired to go on the offensive when she tried to do attack him again. He needed to see if his lightsaber could cut through her sword or if they would have a duel on their hands before the Talisman and/or her life was his.

Bracing himself, he immediately waited until she began to attack and since she had struck from behind or the side before, he was anticipating another blow from one of those again. To his delight, she tried attacking him from the left flank and he immediately swung around with his lightsaber to parry it. Though he managed to ward off her attack and make contact with her blade, he noticed that it was entrapped with dueling magic and was thus, invincible against basic lightsaber strikes. She's powerful enough to weld magic into her weapon, I like this woman the more I learn about her he thought to himself.

And before she could teleport to attack again, he went on the offensive with an aggressive onslaught of Juyo. She defended against it as best as she could but since she had no experience fighting against a lightsaber, she tried striking out with her katana. A couple of her blow caught him by surprise but not so much so that she landed a blow on him or that he couldn't defend against it he surprised her when he suddenly jumped into a wild spin that landed a kick on her face.

This was immediately followed by one to the chest, which sent her flying into the wall behind her and even through it. _Her technique is outdated but not so heavily so that she couldn't outmatch a warrior with a vibroblade. If I can persuade her into an alliance, perhaps we can work on that_ he thought silently before keeping a vigilance for her retaliation. To his surprise, she did so not through an attack with her blade but with a punishing volley of green Force lightning.

He was quick to use his lightsaber to block due to the uncertainty of his mechanical apparatus' ability to resist electricity. However, he was also careful to make sure she wasn't using it to get his lightsaber out of his hand as Sidious sometimes did years ago. To avoid this, he slashed across the air with his lightsaber and watched as her hand was pulled in that direction and the lightning stopped. Quickly, he repositioned his blade so that he was ready for another onslaught if she decided to send another volley his way.

**Savage saw the Chiss** doctors and security guards reach their blasters long before they could fire. He was quick to ignite both sides of his lightsaber and start hacking down those nearest to him, including the doctor who had given him his new arm. As soon as he did that, the rest of the medical team dropped their pistols and ran the other way, hoping not to be cut down too. However, the security staff that had hung around before was not so cowardly and gave the big Zabrak a fight.

In fact, he was having to deflect fire at all sides though some bolts got through and cut into his skin. None of this was lethal, to his surprise, and he was able to continue fighting and hacking down guards where he went. Nurses screamed in fear when they weren't trying to evacuate their more sickly or seriously injured patients from out of Savage's rampant path. Unfortunately, most of these efforts amounted to nothing on their part and Savage ended up killing them all.

I knew we shouldn't have trusted these people to care for us. They would heal us only to kill us themselves and what's to stop my arm from being a conductor of deadly electricity? he asked himself. All of these thoughts blacked out his ability to be rational and allow the power of the Dark Side to surge through his body once more. More and more security officers came in as if called to his power and began shooting at him in the hopes of slowing him down.

Instead their bolts only seemed to make him angrier and faster in his attacks than he had been before. And as time went on, less of their bolts got past his lightsaber and more of them were either vaporized by the blades or deflected back at their sources. Savage Opress was no longer a mortal being who had lost his arm at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi or vulnerable to blaster bolts. He was now a entity of the Dark Side itself and a carrier of its will, bringing death to all who stood before him.

Though Maul was not here to see Savage's transformation into this angel of death, he knew his brother would have been proud of it. He might even have said that Savage didn't need as much training as he had originally suspected Savage needed. Though he would ultimately chastise him for allowing his enemy to slow him down initially, he would reward his overall success somehow. That motivation combined with his deep connection with the Dark Side kept him going and allowed him to slash down more and more officers as time went by.

**"Not the most creative** or safe way to test the merit of new allies, I'd dare say," Creon warned his master. Thrawn chuckled, glad to see that Creon remembered how his system of reward and punishment worked. "You're right Creon, it isn't. But it is practical and sometimes, the most practical ways of testing a being are the most effective as is the case here with Savage Opress," he replied.

"But I don't understand, under these circumstances were bound to lost at least a couple hundred security guards that are hard to replace before the end of this," Creon demanded. "Two or three hundred if my calculations of this man's skills are correct according to this footage," Thrawn admitted. "Then why risk all those lives if you already know they'll die before the end of this?" Creon asked. "Because though they will die, we will gain a knowledge and understanding of these Sith brothers as precisely that: Sith," Thrawn answered.

"You can already tell that by the color of their lightsabers when they ignite the damned things!" Creon shouted. "That isn't always true although it is for the most part. Remember that there are those who collect lightsabers from those they kill as well as Dark Jedi who either serve the Sith or left the Jedi Order to become rogue," Thrawn stated calmly. "And why would Jedi go rogue if they end up rampaging like this through our halls?" Creon inquired.

"Rogue Jedi seldom rampage like this and neither do Dark Jedi unless ordered to. But to answer your question anyhow, sometimes a Knight may come to the belief that the Order is corrupted. Either that or they may believe that the ways of the Order are far too rigid or too weak. Thus, they strike out on their own to fight against the Sith while the Order sits in its Council and debates the issue out," Thrawn explained.

"And in the seldom case that a Jedi leaves the Order to avoid contact with the Sith?" Creon insisted. "In those seldom cases, they leave the Order to become Healers or to acquire some other forgotten philosophy that they believe the Order can never achieve. The fallen Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn once did such a thing in order to pursue wisdoms that she later brought back to the Order and shared," Thrawn answered, with minor annoyance that didn't show. Creon chewed on all Thrawn had to say as they continued to watch the rampage that Savage caused despite the feeling of helplessness Creon felt.

He didn't want his men and women being killed down there but at the same time, he could not defy his master. If there was one thing that Thrawn was not lenient on, it was defiance against what he had ordered unless one found a better way of obeying them. Seeing as his strategies were near perfect more than ninety percent of the time, no one tried defying him due to the death penalty he would give. In this case, obedience was better than defiance though it meant that many would die in the end.**  
**

**Savage continued with the** rampage, seeing everything that moved around him and killing it when he got close. This went as far as to kill little children who had been sickened by a plaguing disease that would have killed them slowly anyway. He even hacked down the helpless parents after seeing how they grieved for their dead children. Knowing no family except his brothers Feral and Maul, the former of whom Savage had killed himself, he felt no guilt and cutting down these people.

"Have you no shame? These children needed our help and now they have been denied it forever," a nurse exclaimed. "What good is your help if it only delays the inevitable rather than stopping it?" he said just before he crushed her neck with the Force. It was after settling the score with that nurse that security guards came in by the hundreds with blasters directed straight at him.

He was prepared to fight them all even if meant only being able to take a few dozen or so with him before the rest killed him. The leader of these people betrayed us and my brother was stupid enough to trust him. I will not allow myself to suffer needlessly for his grave mistake he thought to himself. But suddenly, the soldiers rose up their blasters in surrender and saluted him before leaving him alone with the someone who appeared to be the leader.

"Congratulations Savage Opress, you have passed my Trial of Strength and thus have proven your Merit to an alliance with us. Though I must admit you've made quite a mess of the place, it is nothing that money cannot replace or help fix," the blue man said. "And who might you be?" Savage asked before deactivating his lightsaber and learning the man's name: Thrawn.**  
**

**For an untold amount** of time, Darth Maul had been fighting Arden Lyn alone. So far, he had managed to hold his own against her but her magic was beginning to slow him down. She had not only used lightning and teleportation but had also tried to invade his mind a few times. His willpower allowed him to resist but it had left him somewhat lethargic each time but he drew upon the Dark Side.

When he did, she could sense it and tried to absorb the strength before he could get it to almost no avail. "You are powerful young boy but don't forget that you are dealing with one of the pioneers of the Dark Side. I was one of the first after the members of the Bogan who discovered the secrets you now wield," she warned. "That may be true but I wield the secrets of the Dark Side to a greater extent and abundance than you do," he replied before giving into his Rage.

It renewed his strength and even quadrupled it before he resumed his attacks against the fallen Jedi Knight. His attacks from Juyo became so strong that the only way she could defend against them was if she teleported and attempted to attack him from behind. But even this was turned on her when he used the Force to grasp her neck and throw her into another wall. "Your petty attacks are no use against one who has been raised in the ways of the darkness that surrounds us both!" he hissed.

"And your attacks are no use against someone who bathed in the ichor of the Dark Side daily," she replied. That was before she too gave into her rage and showered Maul with an incredible volley of Force lightning. So powerful was the Storm that she sent his way that it actually melted some of the treasure that surrounded them and brightened the light of the nearby Talisman. With this power thrown out, she was surprised to see that he had shaken most of it off without much effort on his part.

_How is this possible, an attack like that would have killed Xendor if I caught him off guard with it?_ she asked herself. Her rage gave way to her fear and she even used Force Scream in the hopes of repelling him. Unfortunately for her, he managed to shake most of this off as well with very little injury to his clothes let alone his body. "A tickle compared to the power I wield but perhaps it isn't so against the Jedi enemy we share," he said, taunting and persuading her into alliance with him.

"You will stop at nothing to gain both an alliance with me and the Talisman, will you?" she asked. "If I have to kill you I will but otherwise, you're right about how I am relentless," he answered. "You know no boundaries as far as your use of the Dark Side goes. Perhaps the Sith are not the counterpart but the accumulation of what Xendor and I discovered millennia ago," she said, thinking aloud.

"Will you stand with me, child of the darkness as you once stood with him? Or will you stand against me and hope that you live to see another day?" he asked. Finally, both he and she relented in their power and Arden answered that she would stand with him. "Whatever powers I can use to level the playing field for you, I will," she said.

But she warned him that if the Talisman was leaving these chambers, she was to carry it. "The carriage of the Talisman is of no object to me so long as you do not fight against me for it. My brother, my ally, and I need your power and the power within the artifact for our ultimate goal. That is, if you are willing to lend both of them to our little cause to become the victors of the Clone Wars," he replied.

She nodded and stated that she would be more than willing to lend both powers to him. "Then let us stay here no further and return to the headquarters of my brother and my ally," he said. And as she proceeded to follow him out of the cave, she took a last look at her surroundings. Then she marched out with him to face the greater galaxy that had transformed since her tragic first life.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

"Why attack me if it was all just a test of my worth to you?" Savage asked. "Would you have considered it a Test if I didn't attack with men but with questions of your character instead?" Thrawn replied. Savage shrugged, admitting that it was probably for the better that he had been tested the way he had been mere hours ago. "Now I can provide my wealth to you and your brother from within and I can give you a list of organizations you can reach for soldiers.

"Beyond that, I can offer you nothing more as an ally even with the power of Arden Lyn and the Talisman," Thrawn stated. "My brother would probably say that that's enough anyway on your part. Enough to get us by anyway but may I ask if you have a ship we could use to get to the people you list?" Savage inquired. You notice the finer details that your brother sometimes leaves out, a well-rounded team indeed Thrawn said as he chuckled at Savage's inquiry.

"Sometimes, Savage, you are astonishingly perceptive even compared to your brother. Yes, I can provide you with a ship that is a minor formality of my resources. And I believe you will undoubtedly desire one with speed and agility on its side in case you get caught in a crossfire?" he said aloud. "That should suffice the both of us plenty so long as there is room for us to breath in and more," Savage replied.

"I can arrange that with ease and I can also arrange for you and your brother to be given the best accommodations of any outsider while you remain here. Does that suffice you, warrior of the Dark Side of the Force?" Thrawn asked. "It does satisfy me, your leadership. It truly does," Savage answered with a nod.**  
**

**Maul had called for** the return of the driver but decided he would help Arden get a feel for fighting against a lightsaber. "My style is one of most powerful: it is called Juyo, seventh and most aggressive form of lightsaber combat. If you will not wield a lightsaber, let me at least teach you how to defend against one," he said. Arden nodded and decided that it would be better than hoping every lightsaber duelist she encountered was as merciful as Maul had been down in the caves.

When instructed to do so, she did the best she could to parry the blows he sent her way. "The most defensive style of lightsaber combat, and probably the best one for you to know for now, is called Soresu. All who use this style have the singular goal of exhausting their opponent before striking them dead or immobilizing them beyond their ability to fight," he explained. Arden listened intently and observed as Maul demonstrated some of the basics of Soresu.

"For the most part, this style can defend against anything with my style being one of a few exceptions. Since you have enhancing magic, your blade can most likely deflect the bolts of energy that come from blasters as well as a lightsaber can," he said. Then they practiced again, Arden using Soresu and Maul using Juyo and the latter watched as the former grasped the concepts rapidly. Perhaps too rapidly for his own good or the good of anyone else who may confront Arden in the future.

"Be warned Arden, this style is not used strictly to counter the offensive power of Juyo. It can also be used to counter all five of the other forms," he said after a while. "And what are the names of the other forms, if I may ask?" Arden inquired. "The first and most basic is called Shii-Cho: it was created in the era where many Jedi and Sith were transferring from blades like yours to lightsabers.

"Shii-Cho is very raw and basic, so much so that whether you know it or not you wield it when you use your sword. Not that that's bad, it's actually a better start to understanding the lightsaber than my brother currently has as my apprentice. The next is also relatively basic but is incredible when wielded appropriately against someone who has just Shii-Cho or a sword like yours. It is called Makashi and bases itself heavily on the precision and accuracy of a blow for while the lightsaber is powerful, its point is as accurate as he who wields it," he explained.

When she said nothing but gestured that she was still interested in this, he continued. "You already know the defensive prowess of the style known as Soresu. However, I have not told you why it was created: both Shii-Cho and Makashi are heavily offensive. Those who created Soresu knew it would be wise to develop a style meant for defense against both of the first two and other weapons.

"The Jedi who sliced me in half, Kenobi, is a powerful wielder of this style and is one of the few who has ever managed to repel my use of Juyo. His skill in Soresu is so astounding that he managed to hold his own against me even as my brother used a double-sided lightsaber alongside me. The next, yet another offensive style but holds known of the precision of Makashi or focus of Shii-Cho, is Ataru. Based entirely in the acrobatic prowess of the warrior in question, it can be quite frantic in appearance and few wield it with true skill.

"Those who do however, are powerful only so long as they are not trapped in tight spaces. I once killed a Jedi Master by exploiting this weakness though this was unfortunately Kenobi's mentor. His death inspired many Jedi, including Kenobi himself, to turn away from Ataru in favor of the defensive capabilities of Soresu. Then there is Djem So, a direct opposite of Soresu and created from it when several Soresu wielders wanted an opposing form to counter its defensive properties.

"Generally, only those of incredibly physical girth and brawn wield this style proficiently unlike those of Soresu who must be quick and agile. The next is the style of Niman, known as the Diplomat's Style for the fact that it is nowhere near as aggressive or defensive as the others. Many who wielded this style at the Battle of Geonosis fell to blaster bolts pretty quickly and it is best to avoid this one. You already know of the style of Juyo but a counterpart to it was recently created: Vaapad is its name.

"The creator, Master Mace Windu of the Jedi Order, invented this style as a means of channeling his own inner darkness for the benefit of the Light. It is most likely because he originated the idea that he is the only user of Vaapad that did not succumb to the Dark Side while using it. There are always several other variants of other styles such as Shien for Djem So, which is characterized by the blade being pointed backwards while in use. There is also Jar'Kai, the useage of two blades at once, and other such variants that I will let you search for on your own time," he finished with that.

"In my day, there were variants of the style I wield with my sword. The Masters always told me that for everyone who used a blade like this, there was a unique style or group of styles that suited them. Does that hold true for lightsabers in this time?" Arden asked. Maul nodded and stated that he believed that Ataru and Soresu were most suited to Arden's sleek, agile build and her ability to defend with ease.

"Perhaps there is something with which I can start my training in both of those styles?" Arden asked. "I have copies of training modules I originally created for practice when I was Lord Sidious' servant. After my defeat on Naboo, I held onto them and then intended to use them with my brother for his training. However, he will not be needing the modules on Ataru and I can teach him Soresu myself," he answered.

Arden smiled and thanked Maul for giving her the new start on combat that she would need when facing the Jedi in this time. "Do you have any suggestions as to an emergency form that I can use? Say I'm cornered beyond the use of Ataru and I need to go on the offensive," she asked him. "If you wish I can give you the modules for Juyo as well or you can find a user of Vaapad," he answered.

That was when she sensed the presence in the Force that remained alien to her even now that she knew who Maul was and could recognize his aura. This was a power similar to her own but when he mentioned finding a user of Vaapad, she managed to see a face this time. It was the face of a woman who seemed a little more elderly in appearance than Arden did with black braided hair. She also had a strange jewel in the center of her forehead which probably suggested she was more spiritual than literal.

Could this be the one who Maul spoke of or did he not know who she was? Perhaps he didn't know considering how passively he mentioned it but she was quick to respond to his comment. She smiled and said that perhaps he would need to find someone who wielded Vaapad indeed. "It would certainly catch the Jedi off guard for an ancient being such as myself to know a rare style as that," she added.

He smirked and shrugged before looking in the distance and checking to see if the speeder was coming. To his impatient delight, the speeder was on its way and its shape was just barely appearing on the horizon. "Not much longer now before we get you introduced to Admiral Thrawn and on your way to assisting us in our new alliance. Tell me, do you have any particular Force talents I should know of now besides teleportation and Force Voice?" he asked.

"With the Talisman, I can do virtually anything but I can also conduct Battle Meditation from any distance with or without it. I also have a sympathy link to any powerful beings attuned to the Force who are currently comatose having been so myself for twenty-five millennia. Perhaps someday, I can use the Talisman's power to teleport to where they are (yes it can help me move across space and time) and revive them," she answered. When he asked for anything else, she told him she had probably all the same talents that he had beside those few she mentioned including manipulation of the Talisman.**  
**

**In the dark recesses** of her comatose mind, Depa Billaba sensed a presence unlike which she had sensed before. Unfortunately, in her immobile condition, she was in no position to even beg the presence to stay and comfort her. For comfort her it did despite the likeliness that this was someone who had followed a similar path to the one she had taken before she ended up here. The memories were still fresh as the daylight of the Coruscanti sun which gave a unique golden tinge to the skies as it rose.

She had once been considered one of the wisest spiritual figures of the Jedi Order. Whenever a youngling or a Padawan felt that something within them was at conflict with the Order, she was there. She was the friend and the guide they had towards the absolution of all their sins and the end of all their inner conflict. Once, she had even been a soothsaying adviser for the warrior known as Anakin Skywalker and his Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

But she followed her colleague Mace Windu's lead in accepting the usage of his unique style of Vaapad. That was when all of it went downhill for her: she had seen the truth of the Jedi Order. Through Windu's invention, she saw how she was the most blind of all the Jedi since these blind people considered one of the wisest of their flock. How could she possibly have allowed herself to live with it when she made the discovery and even after this enlightenment, why did Mace spare her?

Death would have been much better for her and more honorable than this eternal dream. This state of helplessness where her life hung between the edge of life's thin thread and death's limitless void. Why did he subject her to this horror instead of just letting her go? Did he love her or have feelings of affection, infectious desires even when compared to the indulgent desires of the Sith?

She would never know and no one understood the motives of that man except for Yoda. After all, it was Yoda who found Mace at a young age and practically raised him as his own. Both were mysterious men in their motives and the way they followed the Old Code of the Order. She did know this, however: if she were ever to be revived from this trance, she would take revenge against them.**  
**

**Thrawn watched as Savage** greedily and unquestioningly accepted the accommodations he provided. Had I still been testing him, he would have done very poorly at this point. After all, what would stop me from slipping a dagger amongst my maidens and ordering his death? he said to himself. He noted that of the two brothers, Maul was the far more intelligent one and made sure to remember to watch him and how he controlled both himself and Savage.

Though Maul was likely hardly any better in combat than his brother, at least the man would have more focus. In addition, it seemed like Maul was far more a man of words when he wished to be though he had the aggression to be a magnificent fighter when called to be one. Under the right circumstances, anything Maul says can rally thousands if not millions to his banner he noted. Indeed, he saw a rivaling mind but perhaps he didn't need to be on competition with Maul.**  
**

Perhaps this alliance could work to Thrawn's own convenience if instead, he manipulated Maul into trusting him. After that, he, Savage, and any forces they rally could shield Thrawn's hand from the sight of those who would destroy him if he was revealed to be in existence still. The Jedi would be especially quick to retaliate against the forces Thrawn commanded seeing as it was he who destroyed their Outbound Flight project. He had sent back two of their greatest Jedi, Kenobi and Skywalker, humbled and practically on their knees before the Council while the rest were destroyed.

Now, however, Kenobi and Skywalker had the advantage in that they could rally enough forces to destroy Thrawn entirely if they found out he was still in business. But how to solve this dilemma without Maul ever realizing that he and Savage were the pawns and not the masters? And that was when he came up with an excellent solution to the problem: an old Chiss idea that went "a servant is a master in disguise". Thrawn would indulge Maul's ego as he had done with Savage and provide guidance to resources in the galaxy under the pretense of serving their purposes for them alone.

He would turn them into his emissaries who would create wanton and anarchy, and leave a path of destruction in their wake. Only if their path was stopped by the powers that be would Thrawn decide that the time had not yet come to take dominion of the galaxy. But once he did have dominion though, he would channel all the wealth and power of the title to repel the extra-galactic invaders forever. They would not take what was his before he claimed it and they would pay for their vandalisms against his people at long last.

"Your leadership, reports have just come in that Lord Maul has returned. That's not all though: he's accompanied by the woman from the caves and it appears she has the Talisman in her possession," Creon reported. Ah, so he did manage to turn her power towards an ambitious mutual cause after all. A most impressive feat of cunning though no doubt it wasn't resolved without combat Thrawn thought silently.

"Then let's not keep the two of them waiting, we will greet them at the front door to my office. Prepare my formal wear and make sure I can put it on before they arrive," he ordered aloud. Bowing, Creon left his master in order to obey his orders as swiftly as possible. To think that Maul was cunning enough to succeed in swaying Arden into this alliance was astounding.

It would appear as though Thrawn would have to be even more careful in how he manipulated their campaign to his favor. After all, as ancient as she was, the woman was not stupid and would likely suspect treachery of some kind on his part. Beings of the Dark Side who were immense in their power did have trouble seeing through him because of his mind was wired. But he always made sure to be prepared to do what it took to keep it that way even if he had to use his Terras Kasi training.**  
**

**"Even the most primitive** cities in my day weren't anything like this. I wonder how the people stand to live through this bitter weather under these circumstances," Arden stated. "This is mostly a military facility, with few exceptions only soldiers live here," Maul replied. "That would explain a lot and is a convenient idea if that's the case," she said.

He nodded and asked the driver where they were going. "His leadership Thrawn wishes to see you both at his own personal estate on Irkalla. He wishes to commemorate you on your success in bringing back the Talisman and persuading the lady to join your alliance," the Chiss driver answered. "This Thrawn character sounds like a very interesting man, perhaps even one whose mental wheels are always turning," Arden said.

"When I first met him, he showed the makings of a mastermind like no other," Maul agreed. "Still what I can't understand is why Irkalla looks the way it does at all. When I was first imprisoned here, it was a beautiful tropical planet radiant with life. Now it's but a cold, barren wasteland and a broken shadow of its former glory," she added.

"Though natural phenomena had something to do with that, it was more likely your power amplified by the Talisman that killed off the wildlife. Sometimes a wielder of the Dark Side can kill flora and fauna with just their power even if they slumber," he retorted. She shrugged, not denying that she may have had something to do with it, and neither one said anything more as they arrived. "Here we are and if you need anything further I will not be as far away now as I was before," the driver stated.

Then he left them once again and Thrawn appeared in attire that he had not worn before. However, the formal nature of it did suggest a commemoration of Maul's success in its glamour. I will get used to this after a while though I wonder if Arden will he thought to himself. But to his surprise, she took in the sight of Thrawn as though she were a little child gazing at a healing angel.

Her eyes had shrunken and her mouth was hanging open, having never seen Chiss beauty in her life. "Do not be overwhelmed by the sight of me, my dear. I assure you that this insignificant compared to the glamour of the Chancellor of the Republic or Count Dooku of the Separatists," Thrawn stated. "Forgive me sir, I have never seen such dazzling beauty before even in the days of the First Schism," she replied.

_You will be seeing much more, and likely destroying it, if you come with me and my brother back into the greater galaxy_ Maul thought to himself. And as if the thought prompted his appearance, Savage also came with a new mechanical arm attached to his body. Maul smiled, impressed by the technological achievements of these people and was forever thankful. Not too long ago, Savage had been on the verge of death by exhaustion but now he was fueled up and strong again.

"It is good to see you once more brother, the wait for your return was terribly long. What do we do now that you're back and we have gained a new ally?" Savage asked after briefly embracing his brother. "That remains to be decided but perhaps Thrawn and Arden can help us remedy that tonight," Maul replied. "Not by any chance Arden Lyn of the First Great Schism of the Jedi Order, is it?" Thrawn asked.

Arden nodded and stated that she was pleased to make his acquaintance as he introduced himself. Once pleasantries were aside, Thrawn suggested that they step out the cold to discuss business over a warm meal. "A meal does sound good now that I am awakened from a twenty-five thousand year trance induced by the Force," Arden agreed. After a brief chuckle from the men, all four of them walked back up the stairs and stepped inside the Great Hall of Feast.

Occasionally, whilst seating themselves, Savage caught himself looking up at the woman called Arden. When she returned his curiosity, he immediately looked back down to his steaming hot food. He felt no love for her and yet, he found himself looking up at her though he didn't know if it was in suspicion or in lust. She was beautiful but she had a dark aura about her that hinted seductive capability; only time would tell what her true character was around men.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Several days had passed since the funeral of Master Adi Gallia and thus, Obi-Wan felt the massive shift in the Force. The Council was meeting about it when he came in and he decided to give his input on what he thought it was. "Perhaps Maul and his brother are still alive though you all think them dead," he suggested. "Do you think they are dead, Master Kenobi?" Plo Koon asked.

"No, the Sith are persistent and will not permit death so long as there is still a chance to survive. Look at how Maul survived being cut in half shortly after gutting Master Qui-Gon on Naboo," Obi-wan answered. "The brothers this could be but more ancient I feel this is," Master Yoda stated. "More... ancient, Master Yoda?" Obi-wan asked.

"A dark shadow from eons passed, returned it has to come upon us again. In grave danger, I fear we may be if with Maul and Savage, this shadow decides to ally itself," Yoda answered. "Where could this shadow have come from and what makes it dangerous?" Master Kit Fisto asked. "A Jedi this shadow once was, driven into mad despair by the power of the Dark Side," Yoda replied.

"Could it be someone who was once put into trance by one of us only to be awakened now?" Mace Windu asked. "Not by us was this shadow sealed away but by a long-dead warrior of the Order. Who the source of the shadow is, I know not nor know I who sealed it away only to die long ago," Yoda said, looking sternly at them all. "I say we scour the galaxy with what we have available and track down this shadow even if we have to expand into the Unknown Regions," Ki-Adi Mundi suggested.

"Admirable and understandable action that is but foolhardy and rash it also is," Yoda told him. Ki-Adi said nothing after that nor did any of the Council members as they took a moment to think. Yoda had said this someone was a dark shadow "from eons passed" but who could it be? Was it a survivor of the days of Lord Vitiate or the man himself returned for conquest?

Could it be someone Yoda had fought in his youth and thought dead of his wounds afterwards? Or could it be someone from an even older and more forgotten time than either one of those? Could it be someone from all the way back to the First Schism in the Jedi Order? Though the rest of the galaxy took those as myth due to their age, the Jedi Order knew better.

After all, the First Great Schism saw the beginnings of the modern-day Sith enemy they faced thanks to the dominion of the survivors over the Sith species. Though the species was no more, most of their principals lived on in the present enemy of the Jedi Order who threatened to destroy them. "Master Yoda, surely there is something we can do to find out who is emanating this shadow?" Obi-Wan asked. Now that the silence was broken, Yoda nodded and suggested that they all go through the archives and find out who the Dark Side users were that either disappeared or were sealed away.

That eliminated more than half of the number of Sith Lords and fallen Jedi recorded throughout the history of the Order immediately. Now all that remained was to find ones such as Lord Vitiate, Exar Kun's spirit, and even leader of the Great Schisms. Their search was not to end until they found a possible suspect for who was casting this shadow upon the galaxy. For in every moment wasted doing otherwise, the shadow only grew in width and power across the stars of the galaxy.**  
**

**Over the course of the** feast, Maul and Thrawn took the lead in discussions as Savage and Arden slipped silently into the conversational background. "My men are presently in the process of creating a list of organizations with armies and wealth that you should visit when you decide to leave. Without the help of who they list, your chances of having a stake in the outcome of the Clone Wars shall diminish," Thrawn said. "I presume your men will direct me to peoples who have hatred for both the Republic and the Separatists so as to encourage the independence of a third side?" Maul asked.

"Yes, those ones will most prominently aid you in your campaign for revenge against Kenobi and Lord Sidious. We are also taking the liberty of suggesting a few places that can be taken by force of arms," Thrawn answered. "Such as if you don't mind me asking?" Maul inquired. "The Kuat factory whose main profit lies in making droids capable of armed action.

"Apart from the droids made by the leaders of the Separatists, I have never seen the equal of these ones. There are few independent droid foundries that compare to the Trade Federation and the Techno Union Army. However, I assure you that when you see this one you will know that it is amongst those few without deep examination," Thrawn explained. Maul sat back, pleased with the work that his newfound ally had gone to the trouble of conducting for him.

"You will also need to connect yourself with the 'rabble' of the galaxy on both sides of the conflict. One such organization that is considered rabble is the Mandalorian clan known as Death Watch. Once an ally of Count Dooku, Death Watch was betrayed by him when the Jedi uncovered a scheme to turn Mandalorian opinion in favor of the terrorists and complete their takeover," he added. "And I presume you would know where to find them if you suggest them and others to me?" Maul asked.

"Yes: Death Watch can be found on the Mandalorian moon of Concordia, a recent retake since they had once been forced out of their by Duchess Satine Kryze. I warn you though, their current base lies deep within the forests of the moon and they will not let you see their leader without a fight," Thrawn said as he nodded. "Savage and I are both used to that and will not hesitate to kill any who attack us if it means an audience with the leader of Death Watch," Maul stated rather proudly. "Then you are set to begin your path with them before moving on to others who can aid you," Thrawn said.

Arden watched as all of this took place and had to admit that she was taken aback by the amount of scum in the galaxy that all of this implied there being. In the days before the Schism, criminals seldom showed up for fear of the power of the Jedi. For in those forgotten days, it was not uncommon for Jedi to punish crime by executing the perpetrators if they were found and/or caught in the act. But Maul had made it clear that the Jedi had grown much softer than that in her absence, which baffled her.

_Amongst the changes that the Jedi have not made to their ways according to Maul, how criminals are dealt with is not amongst them. I must say that I am impressed that the Jedi remain stern but are much more lax on crime than I remember_ she thought to herself. Savage sat and ate intently as he listened to what his brother and Thrawn were discussing as to a higher course of action. Conversation about how the Jedi would fall, such as this, would entertain him for years to come if he had years ahead.

It had been more than a week since he last ate and he had to admit that though he was interested, he was finding it difficult to listen to his brother with food before him. Even Sith needed nutrition every now and then and Savage did well to heed that as he shoved tons of rancor meat and salad into his mouth. Though he was polite to know simply ram it down his throat and clean after himself when he stopped for a refreshing drink of wine, he still found himself very gluttonous. Arden was even worse: twenty-five thousand years had helped her to desire half the total feast laid before them all.

As Maul took occasional bites, swallowed, and continued conversation, neither he nor Thrawn could help but notice this. "Your brother and Arden might possibly make a good married couple just based on how they eat in our society," Thrawn joked. "Not a chance of that happening: Savage knows better than to engage in anything that pries his focus away from our goal like that," Maul replied. _An absence of a sense of humor is always more likely to lead to a person's downfall_ Thrawn said in a silent warning fashion.

"When will your ship be ready for takeoff?" Maul asked finally. "Whenever you and your brother are ready to leave for Concordia. You have only to say the word and you will soon be on your way," Thrawn answered. It was at that moment that Savage briefly looked up from his food, as did Arden, to see what Maul would say next.

"Your hospitality has been much appreciated, Admiral Thrawn. Savage and I will leave in the morning so as to catch the Mandalorians at night, thus surprising them," Maul replied. While Thrawn thought it over with a sigh and had to admit that Maul was right about that. If they managed to get into Concordia during the night, Death Watch's sentries would be less likely to see them land in the forests.

"I wish you all the best in your successful recruitment of the Governor Vizsla's Death Watch warriors. If I know one thing about the technology of the Mandalorian terrorist group, it's that they don't have infrared advanced enough to see forms in the distance," Thrawn stated. "Then we'll land on the fringes of their territory and hope we build momentum before they're onto us," Maul replied. Thrawn rose from his table as did they all and at first, hesitated to speak before he made his next statement.

"It has been an honor to serve and assist you as well as your brother, Lord Maul. I can only hope that our paths will one day cross once more," he said with a deep bow. Wiping his face and throwing the napkin down onto the table, Creon guided him out of the chamber. Then the younger officer returned for the rest of them and the brothers were shown to the quarters they were provided. Arden Lyn, however, was in no mood for sleeping since she had already slept for twenty-five millennia.**  
**

**Governor Pre Vizsla of** Concordia had to admit that reclaiming the moon of Concordia was simpler than he thought it would be. He and his soldiers attacked in the darkness of night with the aid of stealthy ambush of Bo-Katan's female branch, killing dozens of soldiers defending their base. Vizsla himself had hacked down more than his fair share of these weaklings with his darksaber. It's black core with its white glow was the last thing many of these soldiers saw before death's cold grip took them.**  
**

Now, as he looked at the carnage that Death Watch and the Night Owl allies had created together, he was pleased. "We did not lose that many men in the retaking of Concordia but they have proven there is still weakness in Death Watch," Bo stated to Vizsla. "Weakness is always punished by death and those who perished in the retaking of Concordia paid the price of their weakness," he replied. "How long do you think it will be before the Duchess Satine suspects something is wrong?" she asked.

"As long as it takes for that Jedi scum Kenobi to return and bend her over before his mighty shaft again. How I wonder why they have such passionate feelings for each other, even now," he answered. "Perhaps it's best not to find out why they do or how they came by it. For now, let us focus on overthrowing her regime and seeing to the restoration of the old ways," she suggested.

"Yes Bo, we still have our wounded to attend to though it isn't much and a dream to fulfill for all true Mandalorians. A dream your father started before he was killed by Jango Fett Bo thought but didn't say. Pre hated the idea of remembering how the infamous Mandalorian bounty hunter had defeated his father and nearly single-handedly destroyed Death Watch with that act. The silence that ensued as Pre and Bo took in the scent of their victory was long and slow, so as to savor the smell.

Then Bo broke the silence by stating that Mandalore would not fall as easily as Concordia and asked if he had a plan. "We will first wait and see if we can gather allies that hate the Republic like we do then we move to take the planet by force," he answered with a nod. If we find no allies with whom we can face down the Duchess and her armies, it would be suicide Bo thought. Does she mistrust my leadership or is she simply asking to make sure I am still sane? Vizsla asked himself.

Even with the thoughts they had racing through their minds, the two Mandalorians stood together and watched as their warriors settled into their old home once more. Vizsla was glad to see that his men were so bloodthirsty they would eat their own guts and ask for seconds on order to do it. Bo saw an army whose bloodthirst could be too easily misguided and mishandled if placed in the wrong hands. But both saw the makings of the vanguard of the assault on Mandalore where the faithful would overthrow Satine and restore Mandalore to the warrior tribes it once had been.

**Having no need of** sleep, Arden decided to explore the Palace in which Thrawn resided here on Irkalla. It was during this time that she recognized some of the paintings on the walls of the building. One in particular showed Xendor in all his pride, standing over a pile of dead Jedi bodies. In one hand, his sword was held high with blood staining its normally light-orange.

The other bore a flag that contained the standard of his family, the very mark of Arden painting the original strokes. Glad to see that my sword isn't the only thing that's survived the times she thought with a smile to herself. Then she noticed how even now, after so many years, Xendor's face looked so realistic in this portrait that it seemed as though she painted it just yesterday. She knew better than to do it even in this moment but Arden couldn't resist placing a hand on the face of Xendor.

In that moment, she was given visions from her memories of the day she painted that which was a proud day of victory in the claiming of Irkalla. And in those great moments of the First Schism, her eyes could not help but excrete tears of happiness at the memories. Unfortunately, they also produced tears of what was gone now and their power was barely capable of making her sob. The day Xendor asked for her hand, the first traditional proposal in the galaxy's history, had been one of the finest days of her life.

She loved the man to death and had once feared that he would never ask for her. Their wedding had been the first wedding of the millions that followed after and was probably the happiest. But after the wedding was when everything went downhill and even being taken to Xendor's bed did nothing to comfort Arden. Then it happened: the Jedi made her the first widow by killing Xendor and casting her into the trance that was only broken a couple weeks ago thanks to Thrawn.

The memories of watching him die flooded back in and revived her anger to past the boiling point. So much so that she turned around and obliterated a stone pillar behind her with a single punch of her first on its base. As if to make things worse for her, the vision of that woman from before reappeared and instead of relieving her, it left her with a splitting headache. It was after she relied on the power of the Dark Side to heal her mind of this ravaging that she heard familiar footsteps in the dark.

She turned in the direction of the sound to see that it was Admiral Thrawn approaching, now dressed in a silky nightgown. "Having trouble finding rest of any kind, I presume?" he inquired. "Twenty-five thousand years have passed since the spell was cast upon me. Much has passed since that first Schism between my allies and the Jedi," Arden stated.

"I imagine it all seems overwhelming to you, milady," he agreed. "Not as much as what has become of the memory of all that I loved; we thought we would be the creators of history... instead we are but whispers or passive notes in the pages of myth," she replied. "All things fade before the wind of time. Is that not the will of the Force?" he asked.

She nodded and told him that the Will of the Force also compelled those meant to be a part of the future. "As it compels me to believe that that we may have an ally trapped in the Jedi Temple," she added. "Is this ally a wielder of the Dark Side themselves?" he inquired. "Though newly christened as such, yes she is," she replied with a nod.

"You yearn to free her from her trap, don't you?" he asked after a moment. The way she looked at him when he said that was answer enough. Smiling, he said, "Then do what you can and get her freed and brought here until we can assign her a part in the alliance. Maul and his brother will need all the help we can give them."

Thanking him, she decided that she would see if she could use the Talisman's power to locate this woman before plucking her away from the Jedi. It was as she was planning this out that she suddenly developed a question. "You are not Force-attuned and yet you are wise in the ways of it, how is that so?" she asked. "The wielders of darkness and light are each their own cultures; to understand or comprehend the ideals of a culture is to know how to beat them in any war," he answered satisfactorily.**  
**

**Though a rising star** in the ranks of Black Sun, Xizor was displeased with the immobility of the Council that lead the syndicate. For years since the horrific raid of Darth Maul, the rest of the organization had been in complete and utter disarray. However, Xizor's faction had managed to remained relatively unified and even now pressed their advantage to take over Black Sun. Despite that, the Council still could call enough resources to undo the Falleen in a heartbeat if they so desired.

What to do, what to do, what to do about those pesky Councilmen who do nothing but sit and debate. With each minute they waste in mindless babble, millions of opportunities for great profit end he thought to himself. Luckily for Black Sun though, Xizor was more than willing to exploit these opportunities himself and even had his droid warrior Guri see to the payments when he couldn't. It was on the backs of him and his servants that Black Sun still survived and now he was calling debts to the Councilmen.

Most paid handsomely though it left them broke and forced to rely on other members who were also in debt to him. At the moment, he possessed more than eighty percent of all the wealth that Black Sun still had and had considered several threats to gain even greater power. One time, he had even threaten to give up the entirety of what he had to the Hutt clans of Nal Hutta who would gladly take it. In return for making sure this did not happen, the Council had to come to some decision about the future of Black Sun and pay their debts in nine months.

Now nine months were almost up and he had already sent Guri up to give them notification that their money was due to be used to pay him back. "It's business your fellowship, there are always tradeoffs. In this case, the tradeoff is your life if you do not pay your debts to Prince Xizor," he had her tell any who complained about it being unfair. But there was just one who did: the old Head Councilmen often known to all Black Sun as Ramses the Undying.

The day will come when you will die Ramses and then I will inherit all you have to give. Including your title which I will then use to dissolve the Council and make your fellow members my emissaries to the Republic and the Separatists he vowed in his head. However, he was finding that even with his powerful cyborg Guri, he could not collect the head of Ramses if he wanted to. Perhaps the answer was ahead and not lying solely in the droid who proved reliable on many a moon though she did still have her own faults.

What he would if he could find a rogue Dark Jedi or even a loose Sith cannon to channel at the Council. Since Darth Maul had recently re-emerged, despite being sliced in half twelve years ago, Xizor had been hoping to somehow get a hold of the dark warrior. After all, Maul single-handedly infiltrated Black Sun, wiped out all who showed support to the preceding leader, and killed him in one fell swoop. It was Maul who also brought an end to the life of the rogue Nightsister Mighella, a powerful witch hailing from Dathomir.

And he was willing to offer anything for Maul to come to Mustafar and lay waste to the Council with his brother's aid. Even if it meant an alliance with the Sith warriors upon completion of the task.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Arden returned to her head quarters after her discussion with Thrawn, who approved of her mission to free the woman of her visions. But there was one problem: she didn't know where to find this woman and would have to consult the Talisman for the answer. Luckily though, the Kashi Mer Talisman saw all, knew all, and could tell all to those who knew how to wield it properly. Taking it out, she could see how it glowed against the black darkness of the night as if it feared the dark.

But Arden knew better than to believe that the Kashi Mer Talisman feared the darkness of the night. After all, its namesake forged in the depths of an inactive volcano from by the magma its original master managed to carve out of the rock. It was forged in that unique source of dark power and would be destroyed by nothing else but that same power if it still endures. Besides that, the most any who wish to repel it could do was seal it away or hide it in a dark chamber like what Arden was trapped in with it.

Xendor, a descendant of the Kashi Mer line, had taught Arden how to properly wield its power and she still remembered the technique. Holding it in her hand as it glowed, she commanded it to show the location of the woman of her visions and take her there. At that command, the spirit of the creator of the artifact stirred and came to life within the depths of Arden's corrupted mind and told her. _The one you seek is a fallen member of the Jedi Council trapped within the bowels of their Temple._

_And the Temple is located on a planet more than halfway across the galaxy from us called Coruscant_ he said to her. "Good, now that I know the location I command you to take me to where she is contained in that Temple," she replied._ Be warned, the process of teleportation on such magnitude as this will extract great pain just going there. Going there and getting back will be a whole different story for you_ the spirit warned.

"I care not for pain for I have already endured much thanks to the Jedi who imprisoned us in that dreadful cave. Take me there or so help me I will find the source of your creation and throw you in it," Arden hissed._ Your threats do not worry me or bring any concern for my existence. After all, the planet on which this artifact was created was destroyed four thousand years after your time_ Kashi Mer replied.

Before Arden could reply and ask what the hell he was talking about, she found herself wrapped in coils of green energy until all she could see was green light. Then she felt the pain that the voice of the Talisman spoke of when her head began to feel like splitting. In addition, her body felt like constricting and she found it hard for her to breath under the crushing pressure of the magic. This went on to last for several minutes, so it felt, and she initially thought that the Talisman was trying to kill her.

It was when she found herself in a strange room with the woman of her visions on a bed of flowers that she was relieved she hadn't died. _So, this is the woman of my visions; the one who might possibly be able to train me in the style of Vaapad as Maul suggested_ Arden thought. She knew she would have to quick in taking this woman out of here. With that in mind, she created a life-sized and realistic replica from dark energies and plucked the real one from her bed.

It was at the moment that the dummy had been placed that Arden once again commanded a teleportation from the Talisman._ Much obliged though I assure you won't have the energy to do anything further for four days after this_ the voice stated. "Just do it already for goodness sake," Arden ordered. Once again, she endured the painful constriction and the splitting headache, a price of using the powerful Kashi Mer Talisman.

Then the field of green energy unveiled to reveal the headquarters Arden had been given on Irkalla once again. Gently, Arden placed the fallen Jedi on an altar near her room and decided that she would wait out the four days before reviving her._ At least I managed to get her and myself out of the Temple and away from the Jedi filth that we will destroy together with Maul and his brother_ she thought as she watched the woman. What she couldn't understand though is why the Talisman had not told her this woman's name when Arden made her request for teleportation.

It knew all, told all, saw all and yet, it refused to reveal one little bit of information that would have been useful to Arden. _You only asked for the location of the woman and to be teleported there as well as back here. That request did not intel having me reveal her name to you_ the voice replied when questioned about it. Arden clenched her free hand into a fist and vowed that one day, she would find a way to destroy the Talisman if it did this again.**  
**

**Obi-wan Kenobi was **awakened by a massive rip in the fabric of the Force that he felt come from the bowels of the Temple. Just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished but it remained there long enough for the Council members and a few other masters to sense it. Even Yoda and Master Windu were awakened from their meditations by it and ran down the halls with Obi-wan to see what it was. Along the way, they were joined by Anakin Skywalker who would tell his Padawan Ahsoka and others to go back to sleep while the masters took care of this.

"Does anyone have a pinpointed location as to where it came from?" Obi-wan asked the Council members with him. "It seemed to come from... Depa Billaba's holding cell," Windu answered. "Then there we must go, taken she may have been by the shadow sensed we earlier," Yoda stated. Not bothering to stop and say more, the four of them journeyed down to where Windu had taken Depa after knocking her into the coma with the Force.

But when they arrived, they were surprised to see that she was still there or so they thought. "Let's test it for blood in case we're not being faked out by whatever came in just now," Anakin said. "Though I don't like the idea of doing that, my former Padawan has a very good point made for us all. On the outside, this matches the appearance of Depa Billaba down to the last molecule; we could be conned with it," Obi-wan said.

Luckily for them, Mace had brought a knife that could produce blood if cut into skin and gave it to Anakin. It was the young Knight who stuck it into her hand just enough to withdraw any blood there might be. All were surprised to see that there was none despite the realism of what was lying before their eyes. "An interesting trick of the eye this is, powerful the source of shadow must be if able to do this it is," Yoda noted.

"Very powerful indeed and probably very ancient as you implied to be able to do this with ease. Kenobi, Skywalker, have your searches for information yielded any possible suspects for who this is?" Mace asked. "We found only one that might be the culprit: a fallen Jedi named Arden Lyn from the First Great Schism," Obi-wan answered. All sat in a moment of fearful silence before Yoda said, "If freed from her trance, great danger Arden could be if able to revive Depa she is."**  
**

Everyone agreed with him on that for Depa mastered Windu's style of Vaapad and Arden Lyn had been a magnificent Force wielder in her day. If the legends were true that she had been merely comatose all these years only to be awakened now, her presence alone was bad enough. But if she revived Depa and allied with her, the situation would be made even worse for the Jedi Order. And if they then allied themselves with the Separatists or with Maul and his brother... they couldn't think of it.

**Count Dooku and Darth Sidious **were in a private hologram conversation when both felt the ripple in the fabric of the Force. "I sense a powerful user of the Dark Side has been awakened after years of slumber. Who could it be, Master?" Dooku asked. "I have no idea though I know of a few possibilities, one of which happens to be a little outrageous," Sidious answered as he rubbed his head.

"And what possibility is that, milord?" Dooku insisted. "We could be looking at the revival of the legendary Arden Lyn of the First Great Schism. There are no reports of her disappearance that don't support the notion of a spell putting her merely into a trance. If she has been somehow revived, accidently or deliberately, she could be a trouble for our plans for the War," Sidious explained.

"But how could that be possible? She was put into that trance in a deep cave on a faraway planet, twenty-five millenniums ago," Dooku inquired. "The Jedi of those days were far more adept with the Force than the ones we face today. In addition, she was cast in there alongside a powerful artifact known as the Kashi Mer Talisman which could have preserved and revived her," Sidious replied.

"What is to be done if it really is her, milord?" Dooku asked curiously. "For now, we will wait this out and see if it really is her or just a false alarm. If it is her, we must focus our efforts on finding her and encouraging her to join our cause. Unless someone else has already gotten to her and persuaded her to join theirs for the ill of us as well as the Republic," Sidious answered calmly.

Inside though, he was about ready to electrocute his apprentice despite being angry at his helplessness against this disturbance in the Force and not Dooku. "Could we be seeing the resurgence of your former apprentice Maul and his monster brother Savage?" Dooku suggested after a prolonged silence. "Kenobi did insist to the Chancellor that they had likely survived the crash and I fear he may be right, after all," Sidious admitted in agreement. "Then perhaps waiting this out won't be a bad idea after all: it will tell us if they survived and it will reveal the truth about this Arden Lyn character," Dooku said.

Though Sidious wished there was a little more he could do about that than sit and wait, he had to agree with his apprentice this time. "Have a fleet standing by just in case one or both of these things turn out to be the truth. We will need an army to destroy either one, never mind both of them," he ordered. "Yes milord, I will see to it as immediately as I can," Dooku replied with a deep bow.

"You do that and let me know when you have done it in case I have more information for you by then," Sidious commanded. "Very good milord," Dooku said before bowing again and disconnecting. Now, Sidious was alone in his chamber on Coruscant and pondering what this massive rip in the Force's infinite fabric could be. Could it be Maul and Savage returning at last as Dooku suggested?

What if it was the resurgence of Arden Lyn as both of them feared? Or what if it was both things with Arden uniting in an alliance with the brothers? If the third thought was the truth, both Separatists and Republic alike were in danger. An alliance like that could be powerful enough to spell doom to all Sidious attempted to create and leave only a galaxy for them to rule in the end of the War.**  
**

**Thrawn had to admit **that he was impressed with both the speed and the efficiency with which Arden Lyn had gone to Coruscant and back two days before. On top of that, he was also impressed to see that she had returned with the comatose body of the fallen Jedi.. _Is this truly who Arden was seeing in that vision she told me about before she teleported away? If so, we have gotten ourselves a powerful new playing card to throw against our enemies_ he thought to himself.

Creon stood beside him and both men watched intently as Arden meditated to mend the damage to her mind and body that the teleportation had done her. None of it was outside according to her but within because of the mechanisms of the Talismans immense and near-infinite power. "The bodies of those who wielded the Talisman used to be too frail to demand as a price for its power. So instead, the artifact was designed to take a piece of a person's soul or their mind," Arden explained.

"In your case, this price it demands is something you can recover from paying via meditation?" Thrawn asked. Arden nodded and said that she would be well again within four hours of meditation though she wouldn't be able to use her power for another day or so on Depa. "If I am not mistaken, Depa Billaba was put into a coma only two years ago. With that said, I am sure she can wait another day before being freed from Windu's little spell," he replied.**  
**

**Though still comatose, Depa** Billaba had felt the rip in the Force that had entered her Coruscant quarters and whisked her away elsewhere. What the hell was it and how had it managed to do that with the ease with which it did it? Was it the woman from the vision she had had nearly a week before or was it someone else interested in reviving her for her power?

She knew that she was in danger of being revived and also knew that she was most likely to succumb to the pressures of the Dark Side once more as she had on Haruun Kal. _But what if whoever revived me is doing so to give me a second chance at existence and seeks to erase my memories?_ she asked herself. She knew she would be relieved if that the intent of whoever had taken her from the gardens in the Temple where she had slept on a bed of flowers. _Oh Windu, if only you were here now to stop this whatever it is that my captor may be doing_ she thought desperately.

Even with having succumbed to the Dark Side and attempting to kill the older Jedi, Depa still found herself fond of Windu. After all, not only had he saved her and her sister from pirates when they were babies but he had also trained her in his arts willingly. It was he who had given her the key to what would eventually lead to her fall to the darkness on Haruun Kal and her enlightenment. He believed she had gone insane after that but she found that she had actually gone the opposite way: she was sane now.

Was the intent of whoever had rescued her to revert her back into those ways? Did they want to use her power for a cause in the Clone Wars that involved galactic conquest? Or did they want something else out of her that she could not yet guess? She didn't know and she hoped that she didn't have to know either for fear of what it could mean if she were revived from this trance.**  
**

**Maul and Savage sensed** the rip in the fabric of the Force and while Savage grasped his head in pain whilst not understanding it, Maul reacted differently. He merely flinched at the disturbance but did nothing more than that though he had to admit his brother had the better reaction. Unfortunately, this also meant that Maul had a better comprehension of what had happened just now than Savage did._ Which is why I am still the Master and he is still the apprentice he told himself_ as he thought about this strange comprehension.

"What was that brother? It's giving me a splitting headache," Savage asked. "It was a disturbance in the Force unlike any that I have encountered before," Maul answered. "But who could have caused it?" Savage demanded.

There was where Maul's guess was as good as Savage's on the matter of the recent disturbance. The good thing about this was that they were still parsecs away from Concordia, which was nearer to Coruscant than Irkalla, when this happened. "I don't know what it could have been nor could I tell you where it came from but I do have a few ideas as to what might have caused it," Maul said. "And what those ideas be, my brother?" Savage inquired with a raised eyebrow and rubbing his head still.

"It could be the witch Mother Talzin that you mentioned had restored my legs back on Dathomir. My master is nowhere near as attuned to the Force as a powerful Nightsister such as her and could not have caused it. Holocron activations can sometimes be responsible due to their rarity, especially if they belonged to a powerful Sith Lord who created them several dozen millennia ago or so. Or could be the use of some other artifact such as the Kashi Mer Talisman by one who knows how to wield it like Arden," Maul explained.

"That's probably who it is that caused it, Arden I mean," Savage stated. "I wouldn't doubt it but what I would wonder if that were so is why. Did she find us a new ally who needed to be brought to Irkalla as quickly as possible? If so, then it wouldn't surprise me if she relied on the Talisman to pluck them off the planet they were on and then get back out fast," Maul admitted.

"But how is it possible for her to do that through an object like the Talisman?" Savage asked. "You'd be surprised what artifacts like the Talisman can do," Maul answered. Savage said no more and it was probably for the better that he didn't considering the lightheadedness they both felt. Power like that had seldom ever been seen in the galaxy in its entire history and those who felt it usually never did so again.

Maul definitely could say that that kind of power would likely never be seen by him again before he passed on to the realm of the dead as sad as it was. But luckily, his brother wouldn't have to worry about his splitting headache after this either. That is, unless Arden decided to use the Talisman for this purpose once again the likes of which seldom ever happened. Or so he was hoping since the likeliness that his brother would survive another one of these headaches was unlikely now more than before.**  
**

**Thrawn had to admit** that he found the sight of a Jedi and Arden Lyn together impressive. What he did not know was that it was about to get better with Creon presently in the chambers now. Especially since, to Thrawn, he had been an annoyance as of late and Arden requested the life essence of a volunteer. "Wait, you didn't say anything about this!" Creon shouted.

"I need the consciousness of one who is willing to become forever comatose like her in order to restore her without taking in her coma for myself," Arden explained. "No, you're not taking me ever!" Creon said. I could always just kill you and steal your soul while it's fresh with my sword and complete the ritual anyway Arden thought but didn't say. Thawn looked at her and nodded his approval as if reading her thoughts before she struck next.

And quick like the strike of a snake, Arden drew out her katana for and touched Creon with the tip of it. A blade of magic lunged from it and went through the Chiss general with the same impact as if the actual blade had hit him before pulling itself back into its source. It was after that that just as quickly as it flew out, the sword was being sheathed once more with no blood on it. Arden slowly pushed the blade into its scabbard, stopping briefly when there were just a few centimeters left, then rammed it in.

As she slowly sheathed it only to be paused, time seemed to freeze with Creon standing like he had been struck only with no blood gushing out. However, when she rammed the last of the blade back into the scabbard, he fell hard to the ground and blood gushed in a fountain. Better yet, one fountain spewed like a volcano out of his abdomen whilst the other went out between the shoulder blades. By the time the light in his eyes was gone forever, Arden had already taken his soul and used it to begin this Jedi's revival.

Though the spell was a little more powerful than that, the consciousness of a dead person helped lessen it enough for Arden's magic to do the rest. "What happens now that you have taken Creon's soul with your sword and inserted his consciousness into her own damaged psyche?" Thrawn asked. "Now I work the rest of my magic to her mind with the intent of restoring her back to normal life. I will have to erase any visions she may have had during the coma so as to allow myself a clean slate with meeting her," Arden answered.

"In that case, I will leave you be to do the work and hope to meet this Jedi when you're finished," Thrawn said with a bow. As he walked away, Arden believed it was for the better that he left now. She could do her work in peace without passing comments from him here and there on it.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

From a distance, Darth Maul was able to see the fortress he was looking for which was disguised as part of a mountain that stood alone from any other range. It was several dozen parsecs away from where he and Savage had made their camp, using the shuttle Thrawn gave them. "How do you intend to get there with the possibility of cliffs and gorges hidden by the trees?" Savage asked. "The only way that I know has a chance of working with travel here: walking straight through," Maul replied.

Though the fallen Dark Lord of the Sith hated doing that sort of thing, he knew it was the only way to reach them in this instance as far as he could tell. There were no markers in the air (except for Death Watch's occasional spotlights) that told them where to go or what to avoid. Nonetheless, with the power of the Dark Side in his employment, Maul was confident they could overcome any native obstacles. "Do you intend for us to start traveling now or do you think it would be wise to take the refuge of the forest for day travel?" Savage inquired.

"It's too late to really do anything tonight thanks to the longevity of our little hyperspace trip. We'll go in the morning and besides, as you mentioned, the trees will shelter us for most of the distance," Maul answered. _What did you think we would be doing anyway?_ Maul asked silently though he said nothing aloud. Savage nodded and agreed to take first watch for their Mandalorian target while Maul meditated to regain any lost strength from the trip; Maul obliged him that.

**Spinning one finger, Arden** created a flat circle of green energy that looked very much like a spiraling galaxy above her new friend's head. After that, she began to recite the very spell that Xendor had once used to revive a dying boy and cure him of his sickness. "Klunack aras be ra ti nas be ra ti su ra na bes ben nara ti. Amendabla tro shan na ti van te, amendabla tro shan na ti van te," she said.

Thrawn raised an eyebrow, fascinated that she was speaking a language from which Dathomirian could most likely trace its roots considering the second thing she said. What he didn't know, however, was that Arden's translated incantation had a much different meaning. "From the land beyond the realm of life, I summon a newly killed soul. What once had been done without this soul, now be undone with its sacrifice to my power," any translator would say.

After inserting Creon's consciousness into the comatose mind of the Jedi via the green circle, Arden watched as she painfully accepted the healing power. It was when she did that Arden inserted her hands into the circle and around her friend's brain, scanning her memory. Immediately, she found visions of herself which she found to be unusual and thus she removed them from the Jedi's mind. The memories that were removed came out as black little shades that screamed as she threw them aside.

But it was just before these little shades faded that Arden suddenly had an idea she wanted to exercise. She took the little shade by one hand and smashed them into the Jedi's cloak and robes, staining them black as her hair. Last but not least, Arden took the green circle and transformed it into several snake-like coils of energy that wrapped themselves around the Jedi. As they did so, they restored her to a physical peak that she must have had before she went into the coma.

It was after all this that Arden noticed that now, instead of a coma or even unconsciousness of a lighter degree, the Jedi was breathing as though in sleep. Arden smiled, loving that her handiwork had gone surprisingly well for just this once rather than as awry as when she had last performed this spell. "Arise fallen child of the Jedi Order," she said as she poked her new ally's head with one finger. As if commanded to do so by the poking, the Jedi's eyes opened and she looked around at her environment.

"Where... where am I?" she asked after seeing her surroundings and the sight of Arden. "You're on Irkalla, one thousand eight-hundred and twenty-seven parsecs away from Coruscant," Arden answered. "What am I doing here and why are my robes ink black all of a sudden?" the Jedi demanded though not unreasonably. "The robes are a customization I made from your old one and you are here because I have need of your talents for battle against the Jedi Order," Arden explained.

"But Master Windu..." the Jedi began. "Windu? If that's the name of the Knight who defeated you then don't you want revenge?" Arden asked. "Well yes and no but wait a moment, who are you?" the Jedi answered.

"My name is Arden Lyn and like you I was placed into a coma by a Jedi Knight though that happened twenty-five thousand years ago. In that time, all I loved and came to know as my own was destroyed save for a cave full of treasure, my robes, and my sword," Arden told her immediately. "I have heard of the legends surrounding you but I never did believe them to be true," the Jedi stated. "Yet here I am, a product of my time and may I ask for your name now that I have stated mine for you?" Arden asked her.

As the Jedi grabbed her head and rubbed it due to the ache of being newly awakened, she answered the question almost promptly. "My name is Depa Billaba, I was a member of the Council once but no more," she said. "I was betrayed by the Jedi as well and we have two more allies who hate them with almost the same passion that we do," Arden explained. "And who might they be?" Depa asked.

"Their names are Darth Maul and Savage Opress, Sith brothers who have united their power with both myself and Chiss Admiral Thrawn to destroy the Jedi once and for all time that's to come. Since the Separatists also stand in the way of our conquest and have insulted the people we're attempting to recruit, they will go too," Arden answered. "Darth Maul... I have heard of him: he killed Qui-Gon Jinn before he was slain himself by Obi-Wan Kenobi," Depa said. "Maul lives and fights alongside us accompanied by his brother and apprentice, Savage Opress," Arden told her.

"I suppose I can't be too surprised, it's not uncommon for the Sith to persist even after extremities such as being sliced in half. After all, I'm talking with a woman whose life should have ended twenty-five thousand years ago which counts for something," Depa admitted. "Will you stand with us against the Jedi who imprisoned and help me obtain the revenge we both seek against the filth?" Arden asked. "I will stand with you, I need someone who can teach me the ways of the Dark Side and you know them well," Depa answered.

"I will teach you all that you need to know and more but for a price," Arden warned. "Name it and I will be happy to pay it be it money or anything else," Depa replied. "You must teach me what you know of the rare but magnificent lightsaber style known as Vaapad. Whenever I am not teaching you a new power or having you study a new principle of the Dark Side, you can train me in it," Arden said.

Depa thought about this for a moment, shaking her head and rubbing it as she thought about and weighed out the consequences. Then she spoke and said, "I'll do it but I warn you that the style demands more than most are capable of giving it. It eventually made me fall to the Dark Side just by its nature but I suppose that doesn't affect you too much since you've already fallen." "I've already paid my obal to learn the style, now I just need to begin learning it," Arden agreed.

**Thrawn watched from a distance** and had to admit that while he feared Arden's power, he was also awed by it. After all, here was a wielder of the Dark Side making a sacrifice to save life that was not her own. And here I was thinking that all wielders of the Dark Side were more self-centered than the Jedi. Perhaps because she is one of its pioneers, she can still relate to some of the principles of the Jedi Codex he thought to himself silently.

Plus he did have to thank her for ridding him of the annoyance that Creon had been in his last days alive as if he knew he would die today. For his faults he had been a good officer but nonetheless, he served as an example of why Thrawn specified that he rewarded only creativity and intuitive thought. It also was the reason he specified that he didn't always take to heart a subordinate's feedback even if he listened to it. Still, he had to admit that Creon had his moments and sometimes he wasn't an annoyance as he had been just before Arden killed him.

One such instance was when Irkalla was first discovered due to its resources and before classic drilling techniques began, Creon suggested that they see if any historical monuments were available. Thrawn had temporarily put drilling aside in favor of checking it out and found the chambers in which Arden had been trapped in just one of the marked sites. While the rest were drilled for important resources for the Ascendancy, Thrawn had kept a team of archaeologists at the site. Now they were dead and though it was a shock, they ended up being a small price to pay for what was before him now.

Darth Maul and Savage Opress had come at about the time Arden had been revived, which made for two or three wielders of the Dark Side right there. Now that Arden had been persuaded to join Thrawn and the brothers, she had also revived a fallen Jedi Knight who would serve them well. Such power as someone who could wield Vaapad and possibly even some rare Force abilities was not something to be trifled with as their enemies would soon come to realize. _Powerful as this treaty in the darkness is, they will be but the vanguard for my conquest of the galaxy_ Thrawn thought silently.

He needed to know how strong the Republic remained even with the Separatists trying to dethrone them at every turn. Maul, Savage, and anyone they managed to recruit would serve as his little scouting party and if they failed, he would wait until the galaxy suited his desire. Though the failure would be a massive setback for him, his secrecy would be maintained at such a time as that. The reason that was so was because Thrawn was not expending anything uniquely Chiss to aid the brothers.

If he had done that, the Jedi and the Sith would've suspected that he was aiding them and united to come on his doorstep. With the extra-galactic invaders on the other side of the Unknown Regions, Thrawn could ill-afford to have the Jedi and the Sith on this one as well. But he did have a backup plan if that did happen: he would set up his forces so that the Jedi and the Sith came straight through them. Once they did that, Thrawn would use them as a shield against his current enemy and watched as they fell before its might before finishing it off for himself.

Under such circumstances as those, Thrawn would have secured the galaxy for himself by repelling the invaders but also conquered it by destroying the Jedi and the Sith nearly simultaneously. He smiled at the perfection of that plan but he knew it had its flaw in this case being the speed and efficiency of both of those powerful enemies. Thrawn would need to buy himself time to make that kind of setup with his forces which could be easily done if the brothers were effective enough in their attacks. It would look random and like they were just plundering and pillaging for wealth but it would be a pattern.

_My greatest hope is that neither Maul nor Arden catch on before I complete the plan. If either one of them does then it could spell doom for everyone in the galaxy, including them. In addition, I could be killed without a moment's pause by one of them as well_ he noted mentally. However, casting these thoughts aside, he overheard the Jedi saying her name was Depa Billaba which was something he had suspected ever since he heard about the vision.

Now that his suspicions were confirmed, he rested with ease in the knowledge that one of the wisest figures amongst the Jedi was now one of his most dangerous allies. _In their strive for so-called perfection and enlightenment, even the greatest of the Jedi can fall_ he reminded himself proudly. Depa was living proof of how even the wisest amongst the Jedi could become the most insane amongst the wielders of the Dark Side such as the Sith. In military terms, her downfall could be considered a Sith spoil of war in the ancient quest for greater power over life in the universe.

**"Governor, though we couldn't** get a shape, we've spotted something landing a few hundred kilometers away from us. Should I send a unit or two to investigate what it could be?" Bo-Katan asked. "In which direction was it landing away from us?" Vizsla inquired. "To the far southeast of us, though I hardly know what could be the meaning of that," she replied.

"It simply means that, unless Satine was behind an ambush from behind which is unlikely, we have something else to deal with. The chance that it's a threat is at least fifty-fifty but since whoever pilots the ships is currently out of communication range, let them come in it. Once they can get a signal, they'll try to contact us and we will know whether or not they are a threat to us for certain. Don't move against whoever or whatever may have landed in that area a moment sooner than that, Bo," he ordered.

"With due respect Vizsla, they will be in our radar long before they're in communication range. Should we not move then and not wait for them to send a message of some kind? By the time they can, the likeliness that they may decide to attack us is at least fifty percent," she responded. "Would it be any different with when they come into our radar range?" he asked.

"At least we could actually send a party out to stop them before they could get anywhere near the base if an attack is indeed their intent. The chance they would attack if we did that would be dropped at least thirty to forty percent if not entirely obliterated," she answered. Vizsla thought about that for a moment and he knew she was right to be worried about this possible security threat. Then he said, "Send an emissary when they're within radar range and find out if their intent is friendly or hostile."

_Now you're talking sense, ever since that Jedi and her lover Lux forced us away from Corlac, you've been reckless beyond reprieve_ she thought but didn't say. "I will do precisely that Governor, is there anything you'd like the team to do upon finding out this party's intent?" she asked. "If their intent is friendly in nature, have the team guide them to the base where I can speak with them soon. But if their intent is hostile or something other than friendly, have the team do what they can to kill them," he answered.

"I will make sure that the orders are relayed to the first team I send in response to their presence on the radar," she said with a bow before leaving. Vizsla watched her walk out, her feminine curves acting to hide the warrior that she was due to how they didn't exactly agreed with her armor. It was at times like this when he was wondering if he felt something for her beyond being just her partner. Though he knew true Mandalorians were unlucky if they fell in love or lust, he began to wonder if it was anywhere near as bad as his father Tor had once told him it was.

_And besides, she acts a lot like I would in her place in many situations and so we would get along very well. She certainly does present feats of brightness that make me look dumb and I'm the leader of this group_ he thought to himself. But he mentally slapped such thoughts out of him as he thought about the mysterious presence she had brought to his attention. Approaching from the southeast would certainly be an unusual and hypocritical approach if Satine ever took it.

But if this was something else, something neither he nor any of the Mandalorians with him were unprepared to face, it could spell doom for them all. Then there was the third alternative of what it could be for them: it could be a good omen or someone wanting to join them as an independent agent. Like a rogue pair of Sith Lords or fallen Jedi betrayed by the Order, either whom could be very useful. But then, yet again, it did leaving him wondering how they would know of his presence on Concordia.

The news had not even reached Mandalore yet and that was the system closest to this small moon. Then he thought about how Mandalore was not exactly up to speed as far as styles of communication went. In addition, he could possibly have an infiltrator assigned to destroy them by the Republic or even Dooku's Separatists. Neither would be a good omen for Death Watch and they would be lucky if they made it out of a deadly confrontation with either one alive.

**Maul and Savage watched** as the sun rose before they began the climb down the mountain on which they had landed their ship. It was a beautiful to see here on Concordia and the view was spectacular. But neither Sith Lord had time to remain indulgent to the natural beauty for too long. Once inside the forest, they were immediately faced with an overwhelming amount of foliage needing a cut.

Savage went ahead as Maul guided him and used one side of his double-sided weapon to hack through the undergrowth and clear a path for future adventurers. Since the lightsaber cauterized everything it cut, the plants would never grow back now that the cut happened. The last time I was in a forest this thick was when my Master ordered me to assassinate the Senator of Malastare Maul thought but didn't say to his brother. Even Dathomir was not nearly this bad in the springtime Savage thought but didn't say in simultaneity.

"This is the perfect place for a terrorist group like Death Watch to disappear into for safety. Even if the nearby Mandalorians managed to reclaim this base, it would take them years to find their enemies here," Savage said aloud. "Unless they followed the path we have forged for all future journeys in here, you're right about that my brother," Maul agreed. Though neither of them said so, this place was unfortunately a good place for any ambush predator to attack them as well if it was hungry.

But according to what Maul had heard, there were not that many forms of native fauna on this small moon. What was here, in fact, was either plant-eating and hunted by humans or small but venomous in its bite. If the latter, the likeliness that it would be ever seen until it was too late was low. But since neither brother was interested in finding exotic venomous creatures anyway, this worked out in their favor rather than against it as it would with anyone who had such interests.

"Do you think it will take them a bit to find us on their radar?" Savage asked. "Considering the thickness of the forest and our proximity from the base, yes. But if we make good time, we can hope to be found by them by this time tomorrow if not slightly later such as at high noon," Maul answered. Savage smiled and happily continued to hack through the foliage and clear a path for himself and his brother who was also his Sith Master.

Then, whether or not it was out of sheer boredom, Savage asked Maul the most important question concerning these warriors. "Will we need to bribe them with credits or would they demanded something a little more substantial that money?" he asked. Maul thought about that as he continued to walk the path his brother was creating for them, knowing it would be a concern when meeting them. Then it occurred to him that Death Watch's struggle was not for greater wealth but to reclaim Mandalore and lead it back into the warrior days of old.

"Though I can tell you they will demand something a little more substantial than credits right now, I can also assure you we have what they want. Their desire is to reclaim the nearby planet of Mandalore for themselves and restore its old warrior ways. The desire to rule a planet will work to our convenience since we will need a base on which to begin growing our army. Thus, we can lend our sabers to their cause in exchange for an alliance with their leader, whoever he or she may be," Maul answered.

Since the answer sufficed Savage, he never again asked questions during their time traveling through the forest. And neither did Maul speak to reveal his plans for Death Watch or anything else. He was much too busy thinking about how he would at last have his revenge; soon Kenobi would fall.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

"Something is happening and it's either started with Master Billaba's removal from her bed or continued by it. The dark shadow that we sensed earlier is growing and I fear it doesn't mean to stop with our downfall," Obi-Wan said. "Nor do I think I would if I were the source of the shadow though we all know that not to be true," Windu agreed. "Dangerous and disturbing this move is but who and why, impossible to answer these questions are," Yoda admitted.

"Do you think the existence and continuity of this war has something to do with its rise?" Anakin asked. "A possibility that is but remote in its likelihood, it also is young Skywalker," Yoda answered. "I'm thinking this may be beyond our power to stop, the Separatists are not looking nearly as big a threat as this," Windu stated. "Are you suggesting we form a truce with the Separatists and a union of our resources until this new crisis is resolved?" Master Mundi asked.

"A dangerous gambit that is but not as dangerous as this new threat it could be," Yoda added. "Of course, our primary goal is to stop Count Dooku but what if this is something more substantial?" Windu asked. "Or we're seeing the return of Darth Maul and his brother with more powerful allies than mere pirates. If that is the case then we will have a lot more to worry about than Dooku and his CIS allies," Obi-wan interjected.

"And what were to do if this is indeed them?" Anakin asked his former Master curiously. "Perhaps I could lead a stealth team or take a stealth ship into their territory and finish my fight with them," Obi-wan answered calmly but with a solemn sigh. Heads nodded, shrugs were made, but ultimately there was no ability to decide what this threat could be. But if it were Maul and Savage, how would they know of Depa Billaba and why would they want her on their side?

Did it have something to do with her skills in Vaapad and her knowledge of the Jedi ways, including the strengths and weaknesses of the Order? In those matters, Depa Billaba was far more knowledgeable than almost any of her generation before she fell to the Dark Side. Could Maul and Savage have sensed that about her or had some sort of curiosity as to why she was in a coma? If so, their powers were growing far more substantially than any Jedi could ever dare imagine.**  
**

**Three days passed since **Maul and Savage arrived on Concordia and the former had to admit that the latter was doing a surprisingly good job of getting them through. But that all changed when, in the distance, Maul made out a small caravan of people flying on jetpacks in the direction of the brothers. "Brother, look there!" Savage said, having seen them too. "Deactivate your weapon until we know what their intentions are," Maul ordered.

Savage immediately did as instructed and both of the men waited until the caravan saw them and swooped down onto the ground. The warriors in Mandalorian armor did a circle around them and pointed their wrist flamethrowers and blasters at them before the leader spoke. "State your names and your business here on Concordia," the feminine voice of the leader commanded. "I am the Sith Lord Darth Maul and this is my apprentice, Savage Opress; we have come to speak with your leader," Maul replied.

"Governor Pre Vizsla speaks with no one unless there's a very good reason for it. You need to either turn back or be shot down by us all, besides, we know about the bounty on your heads. The Jedi will pay us very handsomely for your heads and we can bargain for a little more than credits," the leader said. "Oh I assure you that Vizsla will find our reason to be worth his while: it concerns the reclaim of Mandalore," Maul replied.

"I'll be the judge of whether or not he sees you two. What's to stop you from killing him and taking over Death Watch if I were to say yes?" the female asked. _This woman is very protective but at the same time, very sensible. I like that in a woman far more than I ever loved a helpless damsel in distress _Maul thought to himself.

"What would stop me is that I need him and I know he will need me too. We both hate the Jedi Order, particularly the Knight called Kenobi, and we both wish to destroy their Republic and their so-called foes in the Separatists. I can help Vizsla gain his revenge against the Sith imposter Dooku and his superior whilst Vizsla can entrust me with the death of Kenobi," Maul answered. The female seemed to be deep in thought when he mentioned Dooku and Kenobi in a single sentence.

"Wait right here while I go and talk with the Governor. If he believes you're worthy, you'll see him but if not, get the hell out of here or we'll vaporize you," the woman said. "Thank you and may I ask your name before you leave?" Maul asked. "Bo-Katan, at your service for the moment," the woman answered.

Savage and Maul then just stood there with the caravan surrounding them as she left to speak with Governor Vizsla. It was an offer he could not refuse: he would have the chance to kill the Duchess Satine of Mandalore, Kenobi and Dooku would perish, and all the galaxy would be theirs. Under these terms, their conquest of all there was to be conquered would soon be theirs if he just said yes. One simple word was all it took for a path of near-perfect galactic conquest to begin.**  
**

**"Governor, may I speak **with you for a moment?" Bo asked. "Sure Bo, what can I do for you?" Vizsla asked. "There are two Sith Lords here who say their names are Darth Maul and Savage Opress. Maul says he wants to help you reclaim Mandalore and in exchange for the throne and Dooku's head, he'll kill Kenobi for you," she answered. "Are you asking if you should let him in?" Vizsla inquired.

"Do you want to trust him sir? I know I don't but whatever your wish is my command," Bo replied. "Then let them here and I will talk with them and see if we can afford an alliance with them on the terms they mention," Vizsla said. "Yes sir, I already told them that if you refused, they would need to leave Concordia or be shot down," Bo said to which Pre nodded his approval. "You have done good to do that Bo, don't ever forget that," he added.

And just like that, Bo-Katan was out the tent again and on her way to do official business on his behalf. For a little while and then he would actually do it for himself rather than hide as he had. Soon, Death Watch would relaunch and when it did, the Duchess Satine Kryze would fear his wrath. She would beg for death before he was through, a wish he wouldn't grant right away.

**Darth Maul saw the woman **long before she could land next to him and judging by her aura, he wasn't about to receive very bad news from her. When she finally arrived and did land next to him and Savage, she spoke quickly and bluntly so as not to waste valuable time. "He will grant you an audience but know this: with him, no is no and if you try anything stupid... we will shoot you down," she said. "If all goes well, it will never come to that between us," he replied before he and his brother followed her.

As they were escorted by the scouting party, Maul saw something that was not normal in Mandalorian warriors. He saw desperation and anxiety to reclaim a lost home within each of their hearts and minds. But it was the fervor of many indoctrinated soldiers, likely trained and drilled from the time they could stand much as he had been by Lord Sidious. _Interesting, most interesting that these soldiers can be so loyal when the likeliness that their cause was corrupted is great_ he thought.

He knew that the intent of the Death Watch was better than most so-called terrorist groups but he had to admit that corruption was inevitable for all good intentions. Especially if the actions done to achieve those intentions were considered bad by the standards of normal morality. But once again, Maul preferred to be more of the silent observer and had encouraged his brother to be that way as well. Though he would talk business with Governor Vizsla, he would watch silently when he wasn't offering his blade to help this rabble with which he was forced to associate himself.

It wasn't long before the speeder that Bo brought came within sight of the Death Watch camp and Maul could tell their weakness by looking at it. Sure they had managed to take the base Duchess Satine had set up on Concordia but without it, Death Watch would have looked very weak. He was going to have to make arrangements to fix that first chance he got whether with or without Vizsla. The existence of Death Watch and the success of their goal depended on it all happening immediately.**  
**

**Writing across datapads while **checking individual droids units was no easy task, even for the great Rodian mind of Hephaestus. The security force he had been set up with was once that was mostly biological due to the fact that droids didn't activate until after the test run but... This force still had its flaws including the flaw of being more vulnerable to the arms of death than a droid force. Kuat had hundreds of foundries across the galaxy but Hephaestus happened to be working at the best: on Mustafar.

So large, vast, and quick was the facility in reaping materials that a million droids could be spat out within a week at normal pace. If constant large orders were being made, this facility could easily spit out another two or three million before the end of the month according to need for speed. The tools used were mechanical and thus, injury on the part of workers was never a question. However, the security force was a different story especially since some guards were bribed by Black Sun.**  
**

Hephaestus had to admit that he didn't know what Black Sun wanted but he didn't doubt that information was involved in their desires. Information to secret of how to make the droids or even information about how they may take the facility should they want to. For Hephaestus' facility of Kuat was in debt to Black Sun for a loan he had requested years before. Though they would not be immediate in coming to collect, he knew that someday their hammer would fall hard on him.

When it finally did, he could lose his job, his family, and even his life if Black Sun wished to go that far with him. And while he bought himself time by paying half the loan off, it wasn't going to be long before Prince Xizor came back and demanded the rest. It never was as far as Hephaestus was concerned and droid-making was his passion far more than people had ever been. If Xizor isn't satisfied with what I have accumulated for him then I am in deep danger he thought to himself.

His brother Epimetheus had already fled the scene, saving his wife and three children in the process. But the coward would not speak a word of the debts to Black Sun nor would he offer his wealth to his brother in assistance. "Trust me when I tell you that Prince Xizor has a way with people that is awfully frightening. He will undo you before the end if you do not pay him off and you continue to defy him," he had warned.

"I think I'll take the chance of holding him off as long as possible rather than flee like the coward you are," Hephaestus replied. "I happen to have a family, thank you very much! It was my dream to get a family and settle down after a few years of working here and that's exactly what I've done," Epimetheus noted. "That was our dream, you and I shared it when we started working here and worked our way to the top for your information," Hephaestus snapped.

"At least I was ambitious enough to fulfill it with my debts cleared to Black Sun and enough money to live until I'm a hundred without ever working again or needing to worry about my children. You just kept working and working and working, spitting out more and more droids for Kuat to sell to bidders just as shady as Black Sun," Epimetheus would say, ending their conversation with that. Then he was gone just like that and Hephaestus found himself working the business alone in the end.

_It's for the better that that coward is gone now and I can stand on my own two feet against Prince Xizor_ he thought. Then a guard came to his headquarters to announce the arrival of the Prince to their facility. "He comes as though the thought of him had provoked him to come here. Tell him I will be with him in a few minutes stat and we will begin business in my office," Hephaestus stated.

**Xizor hated coming to **this facility almost as much as he hated hanging around at the Mustafar hideout during Council meetings. But he knew he had to in order to make sure that the fool Hephaestus paid his debts to Black Sun while keeping the Kuat foundry in business. Besides, he wouldn't want me doing anything harsh to his brother and his brother's family like I did to Hephaestus' wife. She was a fine sexual specimen before I was forced to kill her in front of him he thought happily.

So he was disappointed when security told him he would have to wait a few minutes before Hephaestus could meet him in his office. Nonetheless he had to admit there was hardly a difference between a few minutes and a few hours as far as Hephaestus was concerned. When those minutes passed by rather quickly though, Xizor was glad to see the man again. The same could not be said of Hephaestus seeing the Falleen prince once again.

"What brings you back here a whole standard week earlier than we agreed?" Hephaestus asked immediately. "Impatience combined with the fact that I have already waited nearly four months for you to deliver on your promise anyway. You know that Black Sun has a no-tolerance policy for waiting more than half that time and yet you insist on defying us anyway," Xizor answered. "Okay look, I know you have your doubts about me and personally I would doubt me too but the money is almost ready," the Rodian said.

"I will not be letting you pull that trick off again as slick as it may be. You have a good amount of grace bestowed upon you but I have the unfortunate lack of patience. If you do not pay your debts soon, I may have to take the factory from you by force of arms if necessary. That and I may have to... deliver an untimely gift to your brother and his family; you remember what happened to your wife?" Xizor replied.

"If you lay one finger on my nieces, my nephew, or my sister-in-law..." Hephaestus began. "You'll do what? Besides, you do know that you only doom yourself further when you threaten me, right? Worse, you also doom them if you do so much as touch me in the presence of my guards," Xizor mocked.

"Then call them off and let's see how much of a man you are without them," Hephaestus demanded. "Mister Hephaestus of Balder, your family has been nothing but good clients of Black Sun for thirty-seven years. Do you really want to find out what will happen if you break that chain?" Xizor inquired. "If it means taking your head before I die and securing that my debts never have to be paid, yes I guess I do," Hephaestus snapped.

"Then I'm afraid it's looking like I will have to take our business into the hands of Black Sun's military and police branches," Xizor warned. "I want no further ties with Black Sun except to fight it back if I have to," Hephaestus admitted. "So be it and don't say that I didn't warn you against fighting us when we are at last on your doorstep and about to gun you down," Xizor concluded before leaving.**  
**

**"You two must be **the warriors my commander, Bo-Katan, located on our radar, not too long ago. What is it that you say you can do for us if I said yes to an alliance with you?" Pre Vizsla asked the two Zabraks. "Let me first introduce us so as to make ourselves better known by you: my name is Darth Maul and this is my brother and apprentice, Savage Opress," the red one answered. "Very well then Lord Maul, answer my question if you have come seeking me out," Vizsla demanded.

"We can help you reclaim Mandalore," Maul said. The governor and Bo were both at a loss for words when they heard what Maul had to offer him and his clan. "The last time a Sith Lord offered to help us reclaim Mandalore, our leader was left with a scar as a parting gift from him. What makes you think we can trust another Sith Lord, never mind two of them even if they are rogue?" Bo asked.

Maul chuckled at the question for several seconds, as if the question had been intended to humor him when it was in fact serious. Then he answered: "I assure you that Count Dooku is by no means a true Lord of the Sith as we are. He takes on several apprentices he calls 'Dark Jedi' or 'assassins' when he himself is apprentice to a far more powerful being." Bo was not made any less uneasy but Vizsla smiled at it, never having that knowledge of Count Dooku before.

"Even with two Sith Lords on our side, Death Watch would be no match for the forces of the Duchess Satine and her regime. I assume you have a plan that helps guide us to victory?" Pre asked finally. "We will be acquiring the aid of other organizations dubbed 'criminal' or 'terrorist' as Death Watch has been. And once we launch, I can assure you that if the Jedi Knight Kenobi (whose interference with you has come to my attention) were to intervene again, he would fall," Maul answered.

"How do you know of the Jedi Kenobi?" Pre inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Twelve years ago, before the Clone Wars, Kenobi and I fought on Naboo. Though I managed to kill his Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, he sliced me in half and left me for dead on Naboo. I have since lusted for revenge against him and have fought him twice, once on Reydonia and another on Florumm," Maul explained.

"You speak of Florumm as though you hold it contemptible in your eyes, why?" Bo asked. "We were defeated there when Kenobi used two lightsabers to fight us. Because it, I have lost my arm and am left with this mechanical replacement you see before you," Savage interjected. Maul briefly looked at his brother with a snarl but continued when Savage said nothing more.

"Yes but on Reydonia, we forced Kenobi into retreat even when he was assisted by a rogue Dark Jedi from Dathomir. Having heard this, just think about the benefits for you if you joined our little alliance. By the end, Mandalore will be yours and Kenobi, this Sith pretender Dooku, and all our enemies will fall!" Maul added passionately. Pre stroked his chin in thought and Bo stood beside him, probably inserting comments concerning her mistrust of these two Sith warriors.

_You will be right to think that we may try to steal Mandalore from you in the end and succeed. I would never allow an incompetent leader such as yourself to rule an entire planet and its properties especially seeing as you can barely take care of yourself_ Maul said silently._ Do we really have to trust these fools in order to kill Kenobi and Dooku?_ Savage asked himself. It was after a chat with Bo that concerned what they could bargain for that Pre turned back with his verdict.

"Before we say anything, we need your word on the deliverance of one small but important condition. In return for a handsome portion of the spoils, we need your promise that Mandalore will be ours to rule when we have overthrown Duchess Satine," he said. Maul said nothing for a little bit so as to process what Vizsla had just stated and Savage had to admit he was a little taken aback as well. "The leadership of Mandalore does not interest us and thus, we will be happy to deliver our end of your terms," Maul said after thinking.

"Then you have yourselves an alliance with Death Watch. You are free to come and go as you choose as well as point us to possible allies who can help us. Welcome to the Brotherhood, my friends," Vizsla stated before extending his hand. Maul took it gladly and made a mental note that now he had acquired Death Watch's alliance, he would need to begin his search for more allies immediately. _Perhaps it's time I started my search with some old friends from my life under Sidious_ he thought.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

Arden Lyn wasn't much for sleep nor did she think she would ever need such nourishment again considering how long she had already been in hibernation._ I highly doubt I would've needed that much time to remain mentally nourished as Depa is demonstrating to me_ she said to herself. Whenever she thought about this matter, she reminded herself that Depa had been in the same sort of trance for only a year and yet she was equally restless. Arden wondered if it had anything to do with the circumstances of how they got there or the power of the one who put them in it in the first place.

It mattered not to Arden what happened to Depa to land herself in the coma but she did have to wonder about the sorts of things that could happen to anyone who had been in such a powerful trance. But during her long slumber, Arden had sensed fundamental changes to the environment around her domain but had in no way sensed the changes around the galaxy. Depa, on the other hand, had had a keen awareness of what may yet happen in the future of the galaxy and somewhat keenness of the present. However, neither of them had sensed the past nor felt the entirety of the presence until after they had been awakened from their Force energy-fueled hibernations.

It sometimes gave Arden a headache and she oftentimes took to caressing the painted face of her husband in the portrait she created for him. So brave and full of life was Xendor, it was hard to see him as really anything short of a kind but sometimes brash youth. _Was I that much different and if not, could that have been what attracted us to one another besides our powers? Or did I feel the need to find someone stronger than me and felt that he fit the bill?_ she asked herself.

She remembered the first time the two of them had displayed affections for one another as though it were yesterday though now it was nearly twenty-six millenniums before. Xendor had just slain a rancor that was pestering the Jedi by himself and had returned with several slabs of its cooked meat. While everyone else, including Arden's weak-minded father, had been impressed and bestowed many blessings, Arden had looked at him suspiciously. "Did you really kill that rancor by yourself or did you have help from native tribesmen in doing it?" she had asked him as she raised an eyebrow.

"Since there's no lying to you, my dearest friend, I had a little help in the form of guidance but the actual slaying was left up to me. Does that answer your question or do I need to show you step by step as well?" he asked. For eleven years, the two of them had been best friends and Arden could admit she honestly took a shine towards Xendor about halfway in. If boyfriends and girlfriends had existed at that time, she would have asked him on such a relationship right then.  
Unfortunately, there was only being good friends or being married and once married, a woman had to surrender all her rights to her husband. In addition, she had no right to request a divorce from him but a Jedi Master could forcibly conduct such the sad process should she be failing her husband.

Reasons for failure included the husband being abusive, the wife being defiant, or failure to produce children in a normal time frame or failing to adopt one if they could not reproduce on their own. To think that the Jedi would never condone such heinous actions in marriage now is unbelievable she thought silently.

The husband also had the right to take on concubines who would become surrogate mothers should his wife be failing to have children. For Arden, however, marriage (despite these circumstances) would only tie the knot in her feelings for Xendor, once and for all time. And it was after the slaying of the rancor that Xendor surprised Arden with something she would never forget: a date. Though a relatively new concept back then, many youngsters of both the Jedi Order and others practiced it.

But the date that Xendor took Arden on revealed a whole universe of possibilities not just in the Force as the Order wished but in their own lives. In those days, both the Jedi and the regular people had their superstitious nonsense about the night that Xendor proved was nonsense. So when Arden came out, the law-abiding servant all this time until just then, the night sky was unfathomable. Xendor showed her the stars and told her which bright lights were actually planets beside their own and the moons orbiting around them.

"It's so beautiful!" Arden had said, squealing like a little girl when she saw this. "Multiply the beauty factor by a thousand and you have the way I see you," Xendor had said. She looked at him in shock, unbelieving that he had just called her more beautiful than what she was seeing in the sky. "How could I possibly be more than this to you?" she had asked, perhaps thinking aloud as she did back then.

"Because I love you," he had replied. Arden had nothing to say, the shock of hearing those words bring tears to her eyes both then and now. _The peoples of this time take love and dates for granted now, their power diminishing in my absence_ she thought as she observed this memory. But the best part about that night was yet to come: after telling his feelings, he asked if he could marry her.**  
**

"I already have your father's blessing, all you need do is say yes or no, depending on how you feel about this," he added. She couldn't help but begin to cry like a baby when he proposed to her with the ring she still wore now and he even rose up from his knees to hold her as she wept. "What do you think I've been waiting nearly seven years for, dumbass?" she had asked at last. Then he slipped the engagement ring on and they kissed for their first time in either of their very different lives.

The funny thing about that whole arrangement is that he didn't even have to ask her once he had her father's blessing but chose to do so from the kindness of his heart. But the peace and happiness of their marriage was short-lived as Xendor stumbled upon the powers that would be dubbed "too dark". In a diplomatic attempt to satisfy his own curiosities, Xendor had consulted the Jedi Council about exploring these new and strange powers. However, fearing what could not be understood without further study and unwilling to bend their ways at least temporarily, the Council had forbidden research.

Nonetheless, Xendor and Arden explored these powers together in secret but the Council learned when agents of theirs tortured one of their mutual friends into confession. _This new face of the Jedi Order has changed so much from what I had fought before. The forbidding of attachments, the ban on torture as a means of interrogation, so much that I couldn't begin to list_ she thought. Several months after the revelation of their secret findings, the Schism began and by its end, Xendor was killed in battle and Arden was placed in her now-broken slumber.

Angered yet again by how things had turned out, Arden punched an unimportant area of the portrait almost hard enough to break through the wall, hot tears leaking from her beautiful green eyes. "As you can imagine, the Jedi are not without their reasons to forbid attachments of your sort to Xendor," Depa interjected almost rudely. "Yes my apprentice, you are right to speak of justification in the rules of the Jedi though I know that's not what brought you here," Arden replied. "Your insights do not deceive you Mistress, I came because I was wondering if there was anything you would like to begin my training with," Depa said.

Arden smiled though she made sure Depa couldn't see it and thought about it for a good moment or two. Then she said, "Perhaps we shall begin with how you can use your innermost feelings to channel and fuel your strength for greater ability. As Vaapad has already taught you to do, you can skate across the edge of the Darkness but never actually fall into it if you can control yourself. But I will ask that you go over the edge, not just skate around it and you will fall many times before we're done."

"I am prepared for it Mistress though I assure you I am by no means without my fears," Depa replied rather calmly. "Good, the first lesson of courage is not to make fear absent but to embrace it and accept it as a fueling source of power rather than a detriment to your overall success if at all possible. If there's one thing about the Jedi that hasn't changed in my absence, it's their reservations about fear, anger, and aggression. Each serves a unique purpose when channeled properly and without reservation on the part of the user," Arden explained.

"The Jedi say that once you start down the Dark path, via these things, it will forever dominate your fate. I presume you and your husband discovered the truth of that when you two delved into the forbidden powers the first times you did?" Depa inquired. "No, we already knew that either side of the Force would dominate your destiny to equal effect. Just as the Dark Side has a sheer influence in daily life, so too does the Light equally affect all aspects of life to its greatest degree," Arden replied.

_So the idea of the Dark Side affecting your destiny is not to be as greatly feared as the Jedi would have you believe_ Depa thought. "Tell me, what are some of the core principles of the Sith? Our enemies in the Light Side must have a really good reason to make the domination of the darkness something to be feared more than it should be," Arden asked. "The Sith rely on their innermost passions for their strength, thinking inwards (only about themselves) except to ask what others have to offer the fulfillment of their end goal," Depa answered.

"Neither extreme is justified by the actions that the Jedi and the Sith take to destroy each other; if anything, they are both far more wrong about the ways of the Force than not," Arden stated. "So what do we do to instill the righteousness that you seek to restore the Force's balance?" Depa asked. "The only thing that can be done to restore the balance: destroy both Jedi and Sith," Arden answered. While I knew she was vengeful towards the Jedi but could including the Sith make this extreme? Depa asked herself silently.

"Then teach me the true balance if not how to be a true wielder of the Light or Dark Sides. I already have some experience in both but it is probably nothing in comparison to your own," Depa said aloud. Arden smiled and admired her new apprentice's passion but she was not about to start without pointing out one thing to her. "In order to begin, you must purge yourself of the understanding that there is Light and Dark down to the idea of there being one without the other; the Force is much more vast than that as you will soon discover," she stated to which Depa nodded in response.

**Xizor had to admit **he was severely disappointed in Hephaestus and his decision to turn against Black Sun. But for what it's worth, Xizor was one of the few people who knew how to override Kuat controls and take them long enough to forcibly remove Hephaestus and his guards from the facility. When he returned, he immediately put out a military petition that he had put before the Council which, if approved, gave Xizor full authority over Black Sun's army. At this point, he could state martial law when he pleased and could even dissolve the Council in favor of military dictation.

_Just the ample opportunity I've needed to dispose of this weakling group of fools for years on end. Perhaps they will be blind to the fact that I can dissolve them enough to allow me the authority, something they will pay for with their lives_ Xizor thought with glee. He was going back before the Council today to see if they approved of his new petition after two weeks of debate. His luck turned out for the better: the Council had given him full military jurisdiction and would await whatever commands he would have to give them.

_At last, these fools will pay for just getting Black Sun by without restoring it to its full glory. Much as I would like to destroy them, it is not within my power to kill them even if I can dissipate the Council as an organization. I will do neither just yet but I do intend to do it all the same; perhaps some independent agent will come along and help me out_ Xizor thought to himself. "As my first act of military command, I will mobilize an army that will be ordered to take the Kuat droid foundry by force from its current owner who will then be tried and convicted under Black Sun Law," he vowed immediately so as to appease his political enemies.

Of course, there was more to it than military mobilization and coming up with a strategy to take the factory which were the easiest pieces but he did not let them know that. They didn't need anything that would encourage them to attempt the revocation of the very power to end them he had been given. He knew they would be counting on just that sort of thing seeing as they were presently at his mercy and could be dissolved and exiled within any moment. Instead, he would simply tell them what they wished to hear and make sure that none questioned his motives as he had once question theirs.

_It is hypocrisy indeed but it is of the sort that will make the Councilmen realize the stupidity of having granted me as much lenience and power as they have_ Xizor said silently. "Out of curiosity Prince Xizor, do you intend to spare the factory and execute its owner? Or do you intend to freeze all assets and make sure that all reaped profits go to paying off Hephaestus' debts?" a military official named Odysseus asked him. "You're a clever man and you know full well what my options are, however, I will not freeze their assets nor will I leave the factory in Hephaestus' leadership," Xizor answered.

"Then what do you intend to do, milord?" Odysseus inquired. "I will take ownership of the factory for myself and I will use it for the intent of restoring the lost credits. It will also be used for channeling profit elsewhere in Black Sun as well as any other purposes that may be presented," Xizor explained calmly. This officer was annoying with his questions but the Falleen prince knew he had to tolerate him so long as martial dictation was his.

"So when do we move out to seal Hephaestus' fate and take his factory?" Odysseus asked rather excitedly. "We move out in three days, during which time we will rally enough resources to wipe out the security force already there and execute Hephaestus. Now quit asking me questions and go about the jobs you have that will help this rather than hinder it," Xizor ordered. With that Odysseus left and Xizor was left alone to ponder how he would take the factory strategically speaking.**  
**

**Thrawn was surprised by **the efficiency, diplomacy, chivalry, and speed with which Maul and Savage had convinced Death Watch to join their cause. _Those two will have an army great enough to conquer all their enemies in no time whatsoever if they keep this up_ he thought to himself. He smiled and knew that while the notion of it was entertaining, it was not without its limits. An army that was rallied up quickly would be made up of soldiers and officials hoping to start their jobs quickly.

He knew Maul and Savage would have difficulty keeping their allies in line until the right time to strike came which was why he considered sending out Depa or Arden. A mind that could calm the bloodthirsty and wasn't too authoritative would work in the favor of the brothers more than not. But Arden had made it clear that she would not be leaving Irkalla just yet nor would her apprentice. "She is not yet ready to play a part on behalf of our Sith allies," Arden had warned him.

"Depa Billaba was once one of the most powerful Jedi Masters of the Order. How could she not be ready for aiding the brothers, may I ask?" Thrawn had inquired. "If she left now, she would go out thinking like one of the Sith or as a fallen Jedi as I did during the First Great Schism of the Jedi. Before either of us can ever hope to aid Maul and Savage, we must both be thinking of ourselves as missionaries intent on restoring the balance of the Force," Arden explained.

_I like this woman's trend of thought, it is certainly far more advanced than that of any Jedi I have met before. And it certainly displays an underlying wisdom- or maybe higher intelligence- than Lord Maul has shown so far_ Thrawn silently observed. Arden was a mad woman and did sometimes display that whenever she thought of her long-deceased husband Xendor. However, unlike most madwomen or madmen, she was not without her wits or her ability to use logic and reason.

She was a dangerous one and Thrawn would have to watch her so long as she remained on Irkalla from now on. That is, if he hoped to keep his life and make sure that she didn't one day decide to betray him in favor of taking leadership for herself. Though she didn't look like the type who would do such a thing as the Sith did, he didn't look like a Grand Admiral either. Appearances were very deceiving in that aspect and Thrawn was not about to allow it be his undoing.

"When do you think Depa will be ready to be of assistance to the brothers alongside you?" he asked when he visited her chambers again. "She has some difficulty grasping certain aspects of what I teach her but even so, she is learning fast. I have a feeling she may be ready within a few months and though I know the brothers are limited on time, I doubt they're that limited," Arden answered. Thrawn agreed with her, knowing full well that the Jedi still believed the brothers dead and thus, would not be chasing them again for months if at all.**  
**

**"Where are we going **now brother?" Savage asked. "Yes, I also would like to know where we are headed and why," Pre Vizsla agreed. "We are headed for Mustafar to meet the leaders of Black Sun, hopefully we will be capable of persuading them without much bloodshed," Maul answered. "What makes you think they'll be as easily persuaded as I was or even easier?" Vizsla inquired.

"I killed the man who, in life, prevented them from obtaining their present positions as per the requirements of a mission Lord Sidious demanded of me. If they value their lives, they would do good to remember what happened to their predecessor and desire not to share his fate," Maul replied. Then he turned away from Vizsla and asked Savage if he had confidence in his new "powers".

"I have perfected them, brother. This new arm has made it much easier to do a lot of things both physically and in relation to Force usage," Savage answered. "Good, because we may need those new powers but do tell me, do you know from practice?" Maul asked. Savage nodded and added that Thrawn had provided several Chiss-designed battle training droids that made practicing excellent.

_Thrawn is proving himself a greater asset by the day, I will do my best to keep up my alliance with him as much as possible. Besides, with a mind like his, it'll be no wonder that I will emerge ruler of the galaxy with vengeance completed and all _Maul said to himself. Taking a moment to see his presence in the Force, Maul sensed a growing storm taking its shape from within him. A shroud of darkness born from this treaty was on the rise and soon, it would overshadow even his former master's powers.

Soon, there would be no more Kenobi, no more Jedi, no more Sidious and no more apprentices from Sidious' branch of the line of Darth Bane. The Rule of Two would once again be sanctified and secured when Maul destroyed the old man and his allies with Savage's powerful help. Then together, the brother's would rule the galaxy and wipe the common Jedi enemy from the face of the galaxy. At that time, perhaps he would also take the liberty of disposing of Pre Vizsla, Black Sun's leaders, and any other powerful figures that might stand in the way of Maul's envisioned perfect rule.

_But perhaps I will keep some of my weaker enemies around as slaves so that I can toy with them on my free will. It would most certainly be fun to see how they adapt to it when forced to do so_ he thought with malicious desire. And since there were fates worse than death, perhaps Maul would make Kenobi one of those he kept alive just so that the Jedi could endure one such fate. It would make his revenge all the more enjoyable in the face of what happened all those years ago.

And Savage would also delight in delivering that fate to Kenobi seeing as his left arm was lost because of that scum. Both would see Kenobi, both would see the fall of the Separatists, and both would be responsible for the birth of an empire forged by blood and hardened by pain, glorious pain.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

It had been many years since Obi-Wan Kenobi had personally had involvement with crime lords not dubbed as pirates or terrorist like Hondo or Death Watch's Vizsla respectively. So when he came before the Hutt Council with something other than a mission in mind, he was a little uneasy. Though the most powerful of them, Jabba, had agreed to help the Republic in the Clone Wars with his hyperspace lanes, the rest were far more skeptical of the rather extravagant promises of the Jedi Order. Some had had rough encounters with people Kenobi had befriended and Anakin himself had rough experiences as a slave boy under Jabba's rule.

"The honorable Hutt Council will now hear the speech of Obi-Wan Kenobi," said several protocol droids translating for the different Hutts in near-unified, and near-harmonious simultaneity. Because of business with the Republic, Jabba could only be present via hologram but he had managed to secure permission for Kenobi which worked advantageously. "Honorable delegates of the Hutt Council, I, Obi-Wan Kenobi, come to you with a grave message with which Jabba agrees undoubtedly. Despite his help by offering safe passage in his hyperspace lanes Jabba has seen increased activity in rival criminal activities.******  
**

"Though it is perfectly normal for organizations like this mighty delegation and your rivals to be bustling with activity during wartime, nothing like this has happened before. Kuat droid foundries are being shut down or destroyed left and right, only the best surviving in such circumstances. However, even these ones are quickly gulped down the throat of such rivals of yours as Black Sun. One such factory is located only a hundred parsecs or so away from Black Sun's homeland of Mustafar.

"There is no telling how soon it will be before that falls but because it is a military facility, Black Sun could pump out as many as a million soldiers a week. That's more than enough to rival the Separatists who are sure to notice this and demand possession of these facilities. Now imagine how Count Dooku may channel these resources against the Hutt Council if he were to acquire them. Even with the hyperspace lanes that Jabba has made available for Republic use, we would be outmatched.

"In addition, the Hutt Council could either be enslaved or wiped out by these new droids. Considering that none of you would be likely to submit to Dooku, he would more likely wipe you out. Now tell me, would you want that or would you want to do what you can to make sure it doesn't happen?" Kenobi stated, concluding his opening speech with that question. The Hutt called Gardulla spoke first and when she stopped speaking, her droid translated what she said for her.

"The Mistress Gardulla would like to know why the Separatists would consult the droid makers of Kuat even if to help them win the war. Do they not have enough factories producing more droids faster than anything Kuat could do?" the droid said. Obi-wan was a little taken aback by the question because while he knew that to be true, he hadn't expected one of the Hutts to think so too. But he didn't let this show and replied with the firm calmness of the Jedi Master he was.

"It is true that the Separatists have factories that produce superior models at greater rates but they are known for stealing as many resources as they can. Apart from them, there is no equal to the Kuat foundries spread across the galaxy and if even the few finer ones were operating... Dooku could still expect a massive return rate on any demand he could put on the officers in those same places. Combined with what he already has, he could produce the most vast and powerful army in the galaxy in a matter of months where biological soldiers would have been impossible on that same level," he replied.

Jabba's hologram then spoke for a few minutes as was the norm of the Huttese native language. And when finished, his translator was also quick to translate for him though not as quickly as Threepio might have. "The mighty Jabba says, 'There is no point in debating what Kenobi has said to the entirety of the Council. Once, Dooku attempted to frame the Jedi for the death of his son though his deceit was discovered and my son was brought back to me by the Jedi.

"'Kenobi has proven and his Republic have proven the far more trustworthy though I must admit I feel like both are great evils to be avoided if possible. With our help, I am confident that the Republic will win the war and we will be on top of all our rivals even more greatly than ever before. Crushing our rivals should be treated as business as it always has been and the tradeoffs with Republic are far fewer than they would have been with Separatists'," the droid said. Kenobi secretly confessed he felt the same about the Republic as Jabba did but would not allow his devotion as Jedi Knight to yield to his doubts and uncertainties as much as possible.

It was after this helping speech that the Hutt Council decided to call a vote as to what they would do in favor of helping the Republic. They would even go as far as to send spies to find out what Black Sun and other huge rivals were up to with their associations with Kuat. Something was indeed dangerous, bizarre, and disturbing about their sudden interest in this chain of droid foundries. The vote came in and the Council voted in favor of supporting the Republic's fight to stop the Separatists by any means necessary.

Kenobi smiled, victorious in his business with the Hutts and knowing that now he could leave Nal Hutta whenever he pleased. The sooner he was off this rock and back on the cleanliness of the Jedi Temple, the sooner he could wash off the Hutt filth and stench. He had to admit Skywalker had been right about their lack of personal hygiene and didn't want to come back in here until they cleaned up. As fate would have it, he wouldn't need to after this final meeting with the mighty Hutt Council.

******Xizor was getting ready** to mobilize for the Kuat foundry, a hundred parsecs away from his base, when Odysseus reported strange readings. "Several unidentified but Chiss-based ships are dropping out of hyperspace just outside our atmosphere," he said. What does the Chiss Ascendancy want with Black Sun or is this someone who associates themselves with it? Either way, it's very suspicious to see ships of Chiss design all the way out on this side of the galaxy Xizor thought.

"Prepare an escort for me and I will go greet the head of this little caravan personally. Perhaps the deliverance of my dreams has come at long last," Xizor ordered. Odysseus bowed and quickly left to make the necessary preparations for a guarded escort. Xizor also made preparations by first taking off the armor he had originally donned on for the expedition and changing into more suiting robes. He didn't want to appear to be going to war when these guests intruded although that was the truth of it.

"Odysseus, give the leader of this caravan a space to land but make sure to communicate and ask where the leader is before granting permission. I don't care how you persuade them to reveal themselves but do it once you got the escort ready for my rendezvous with them," he added. It was all still very weird to him that these sorts of ships would be landing in his facilities but he didn't act like it. Instead, he acted like a true leader and greeted this intrusion to his duties with a straight face and lead the escort that would represent Black Sun.

But before he left, Odysseus came back with a recording of his communications with the leader of this caravan. "Attention incoming fighters, your leading shuttle has been given clearance to land but no others. Would the leader please reveal themselves and confirm this communication, over?" Odysseus had asked. "I think your commander will know who I am from a deed I did Black Sun twelve years before but your communication has been confirmed, over," the leader had answered.

The voice had been aggressive and uttered with a growl that Xizor was all too familiar with._ So, at long last, the red and black warrior has returned to finish what he's started? How inconvenient for me considering my plans for Black Sun and the galaxy_ Xizor thought in fear. Gulping briefly, Xizor resumed the embarkment of his escort and was glad he reached the bridge to the landing space rather quickly.

Though the voice with which he was familiar had a source whose power had proven terrifying all those years ago, Xizor was not about to let this one see any fear in him. After all, the source was a Sith Lord named Darth Maul who had struck down the original leader of Black Sun. Many had been killed trying to protect him including the rogue Nightsister Mighella whose powers were thought invincible. But when he sliced her in half, he proved that even the greatest that Dathomir had to offer could fall before the might of the blade.******  
**

******Maul watched as the **shuttle landed in the spacing that Black Sun had provided his shuttle and at first, he noticed Savage, Vizsla, and Bo-Katan looking strangely at him. In their eyes, he could see suspicion and a hint of doubt in Bo but he made sure to keep this strange little observation to himself. "We will make our way to the chamber of those who run Black Sun and talk business same as I did with you, Vizsla," Maul said at last. "And if they decide to rely on force of arms to kick us out?" Bo asked.

"That is where your soldiers will come into play and where Savage shall test out his new powers on live targets for a change. Besides, I have not had good hunting with Black Sun in twelve years; their disagreement will make for a delightful turn of events when we emerge victorious," he answered. "Why wait until they give the order when we can rally the soldiers upon entry and force them to join us immediately?" Vizsla inquired. "Because as dangerous as it is, Black Sun's militias may prove useful to us if they choose to ally with us; taking that away will mean only having their credits," Maul replied.

The Mandalorian leaders both nodded and after that, Maul walked out in front of him with Savage following on his right and Vizsla on his left. Bo followed lastly on Vizsla's left and sent a code out with her wrist comlink for her Night Owls to surround the landing bridge and the rendezvous point. She didn't want Black Sun being up to any tricks and after she did that, she calmly marched alongside her master and their allies as they left the shuttle and walked across the bridge. And the bridge itself was long and almost too narrow for anymore than the four of them unless some troopers landed ahead of them at the end of the bridge.

About a little over three fourths of the way across, Vizsla and the Sith brothers noticed the escort Bo had provided. But Maul had noticed something a little more worthwhile than that: a representative of Black Sun with an armed escort of his own. "A battalion brother," Savage said, noticing the Night Owls. "They will serve us well," Maul assured him just before arriving in front of the representative.

"We request an audience with your leaders," he added as he gazed up at the Falleen. "It'll be your funeral," the taller, bulkier alien replied with a chuckle. With his head, he indicated that the brothers, Vizsla, and Bo follow him along with their escort into the massive fortress. While the others were immediately taken aback by the sheerness of both outside and inside, Maul was comfortable.

He had been here before and didn't mind being here again even if was under different circumstances, this time around. His only hope was that the Council that had substituted for the man he assassinated would be just as willing to hear him out. He also hoped they would be just as willing to share contacts with him for if they did not... If they did not, then there would be blood just like the last time he had been in contact with the prestigious criminal organization.******  
**

******Ramses the Undying was **most displeased with the Council's performance of late. First, they had failed to meet Xizor's requirements as his agent Guri pointed out. Now, they had given the Falleen Prince jurisdiction over all military affairs in Black Sun, including the absolute right to dissolve the Council. What none of these men knew, though Xizor certainly did, was that he also had the right to kill all of them as Ramses watched helplessly. The only thing keeping him from killing Ramses himself was the explicit ban that the Head of the Council was untouchable no matter the circumstances.

Now, there were ships of Chiss design making themselves visible outside the fortress including one that had landed and whose passengers were making their way here. "Just who are the passengers anyway?" he had asked a protocol droid of his. "According to our databanks and our scanners, the only one you would know is a Zabrak with red and black skin," she had answered. Hearing the description of the passenger just behind Xizor made Ramses' skin crawl.

_I thought that man long dead on Naboo, how could he be still alive after being sliced in half? Or did Kenobi defeat him by some other means and lie about cutting him in half?_ Ramses asked himself silently. But he mentally slapped himself in the face when he asked if Kenobi lied for Jedi almost never lied and when they did, it was for the greater good of the Republic. So why would Kenobi lie about slicing a Sith warrior in half and seeing the death of his master beforehand?

Qui-Gon Jinn had been cremated on Naboo shortly after he died there was no lie there. Still, he had to wonder about the others that were with him. What were Mandalorian warriors doing, collaborating with a Sith Lord and who the hell was the larger Zabrak that walked beside Maul? Whoever they were, their intent was the same as Maul's: recruit Black Sun even if it meant destroying the Council personally. It was Ramses' hope that it didn't come to that but at the same time, he did not want to just simply hand over Black Sun to Xizor if he was going to side with Maul and his companions.******  
**

**"I sense Maul and **Savage are moving ever closer to gaining the allies they need. Can't you feel it too, my apprentice?" Arden asked. "Yes Mistress, yes I can," Depa answered. "Good, then it will be only a matter of time before we make ourselves known to the galaxy," Arden stated.

In the weeks since the brothers had left, Arden had taught her apprentice various ceremonies long since forgotten to the Jedi Order that Depa Billaba once served with great, unbroken enthusiasm. One such ceremony was Battle Meld, a very strange very but powerful variation of Battle Meditation that didn't quite require one going into an intense and oftentimes painful concentrative trance. In fact, the only difference between it and Meditation was that the one who wielded Battle Meld could still stand and fight. All the while, they would be capable of giving an army the same benefits as Battle Meditation did and then some as Arden observed with her apprentice.

"Battle Meld should suit very well for you considering you do not have the patience required for Battle Meditation and yet give off an aura of such power. Both do not discriminate on the size of an army or group of warriors and both can turn the tide of a battle in favor of one side," Arden explained. "That much power at my command and I can still fight with my troops while using this," Depa said, not as a question but as an exclamation of surprise. She had never known she had this ability within her but now that she did she knew that with her skill in Vaapad, she was virtually invincible.

"I warn you though that it will only really work if you have more than one person to fight with such as myself for instance. And there are those who know the workings of Battle Meditation well enough to recognize Battle Meld when they see it. Thus, they will try their best to break you of your ability to use it and limit us to only my abilities of Battle Meditation," Arden warned. "But who could do that or would want to?" Depa asked.

Both knew that since no Jedi presently alive would know of this, there would only be a few who would and could undo its effects. "One such being is anyone associated with the Nightsisters of Dathomir such as the leader, Mother Talzin. Another such powerful group of entities can be found on the planet Mortis, which has been long revered as a place where gods roam," Arden answered. "I have heard of them: The Father, his wife Abeloth, and their children known as the Daughter and the Son if I'm not mistaken," Depa said.

"Yes, it is those beings that I speak of who act as mouthpieces of the Force itself and executors of its will whenever and wherever possible. And there is also an even older being who is said to have created the Force according to legends of my day. Normal people take to calling it Time or Fate but the Jedi of my day knew it for what it really was called (due to its duties): the Chronicler," Arden added.

"The Jedi have never spoken of the Chronicler nor do I think we even know anything about it," Depa admitted. "And you have heard of this powerful being and the story of how he created the universe according to the theories of those early pioneers who discovered the Force?" Arden asked. "Only because I stumbled upon some forgotten texts in a temple that once belonged to a group of Force-sensitive monks who preserved all the texts mae in the last thirty millenniums," Depa answered. "So the new face of the Jedi Order is afraid to think of a power greater than themselves and the Sith enemy they fight to destroy... doesn't surprise me," Arden said.

"It doesn't?" Depa asked in surprise. "The Jedi have never been able to accept that there were powers greater than what they knew about. Why else do you think that turned on me and Xendor when we made our proposal to the Council?" Arden answered. Depa shrugged in admission and even admitted that Arden had a good point there, having seen it firsthand.

"As much as I am interested in seeing the continuation of this session, I have need for the Battle Meditation if you don't mind me asking, Arden," Thrawn interjected. "Perhaps when I return, you will be take the reins of teacher for a little while and instruct me in some of the basics of Vaapad," Arden said with half a smile as she rose to her full height. Depa smiled and bowed in respect as she remained seated with her legs crossed before saying that she looked forward to it.

When the woman was out of sight, Arden demanded to know why Thrawn had been observing their session when she had forbidden observers. "I knew you had forbidden observers but I could not help but attempt to satisfy my curiosity. After all, one of the first rules of war is that when you understand a culture and its ways, you know how to truly fight it if you have to," Thrawn replied. "That may explain how the Jedi were able to defeat my Schism advocates when we fought them," Arden said.

"Perhaps so or perhaps they were incredibly lucky, it happens every now and then. After all, you hardly had a culture compared to them and you already knew their every move," he stated. "I see how that may be possible or else the will of the Force dictated that we were to lose. Especially seeing the numbers that we were up against at that time which was not exactly in our favor," she retorted.

"Numbers are always an important figure to consider when fighting any enemy and ours happens to be a little-shall we say it?-explosive when it comes to their biological reproductive rates. Much like our previous Killik enemies, with whom the Chiss Ascendancy has agreed to a truce, these produce themselves at rapid rates. Although they have a long, unpronounceable name in their language, we have manage to decipher enough of their codes to call them the Yuuzhan Vong," Thrawn explained. "So what do you hope to have me do in order to fight against this invasive species?" Arden asked.

"Because they are extragalactic and only recently have managed to cut through our defenses, which consisted mostly of using the Killik soldiers as shields without looking like it, your power is what I need. If what you say is true about Battle Meditation, then all you would need is the names and physical descriptions of the falling frontiers to conduct it, right?" Thrawn asked to which she nodded.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

"Who have you brought before us, Prince Xizor?" Ramses demanded when the Falleen came with the newcomers. He already knew who the red and black Zabrak was but he didn't know who the rest were. "I think you already know who I am but allow me to introduce my new apprentice, Savage along with my allies Governor Pre Vizsla of Mandalore's nearby forest moon of Concordia. Beside him is his lieutenant Bo-Katan, both of them faithfully adhering to the rules of the group known as Death Watch," Maul answered.

"Whatever it is you want this time, you shall not have it without a fight!" Ramses warned. "I think I didn't have my way with your predecessor without much of a fight either. Am I to have expected less in seeking an alliance with an organization whose leaders' success came because of my blade?" Maul asked calmly. The entirety of the Council was stunned beyond words and while Maul sensed fear and dread going in the others, he only sensed deep rage within Ramses.

_Good, he is one the edge of his abilities in rationale. Shall I push him over the edge or will he throw himself over?_ Maul asked himself mentally. "Even if our success came at your hand, for which we are all very thankful, let me make it clear that we will never enter an alliance with you. Not while I live and I am not called Ramses the Undying for nothing, you know," Ramses replied.

_Excellent, he's already thrown himself over the edge of his rational thought. Now all that remains is to put him out of his misery_ Maul observed. "I believe my apprentice can remedy the problem with that sort of title for you, can you my brother?" Maul asked tauntingly. His apprentice is his brother, how is that possible? Ramses asked as Savage nodded and introduced his weapon.

Ramses himself was not surprised that it was a double-sided lightsaber Savage had though the sound of the blade ignitions were heavier than Maul's._ I am not afraid, I am not afraid. My posture shall remain erect and I shall continue to stand in the face of this peril_ he told himself. Though he found himself fearing for his life more and more, he would not budge.

Especially when Savage pulled back as if to throw a discus at the old Fallen Head Councilman. Maul stood back and nodded at Pre Vizsla for some reason, the man in turn saying something to the woman in Mandalorian. She punched a code into her wrist gauntlet and he would've asked what was going on if Savage had not thrown his blade in Ramses' direction, a terrifying sight to behold for anyone. It was at that moment that the old man's entire life flashed before his eyes from memories of a youthful existence as a pimp to becoming the Head Councilman of Black Sun.

During this flashback, he realized that he had lived an old-fashioned criminal life, one that came with a package that demanded harder work out of a man than being a criminal now did. All he had gained in this existence, he had earned even if it was through the prostitutes he sold on a nightly basis. And as the blade spun across to make deadly contact with his neck, he smirked briefly and allowed himself to be fully decapitated in a single stroke. His last hope before the darkness of death pulled his soul to the Afterlife was that no one noticed the smirk he gave and wondered why he gave it in death.

Xizor looked on and had to admit that the brave stupidity of the Head Councilman, whose death had now given him absolute dominion over the rest of the buffoons. "Due to the death of Ramses the Undying, whose title was unbefitting by the way, I hereby declare this Council dissolved. You will all be in permanent retirement and any who choose to stay must either obey me as a General or die," Xizor declared, enthusiastic to finally say the words he had been waiting for years to say. He knew that the coming of the brothers meant something but he never guessed that it was something that would work entirely in his favor.

And as he turned to them, he not only thanked them but he also asked what he could do to repay them. "We will be needing all of the military resources we can get before we can begin conquest of the galaxy. Perhaps you can call upon Black Sun's resources and/or the resources of its affiliate organizations to aid our cause," Maul answered. "It is within my jurisdiction and I have something you might be interested in: not too far away from here is a droid foundry created by Kuat.

"Not only that but this one is the best of the best, spitting out one to three million droids a week depending on the number of orders and the quantity of each order. Combined with our biological allies, Death Watch, and any others you desire to recruit you would be nothing short of invincible," Xizor said. "Is there a way you can convince the Kuat foundry leader into letting us use it?" Maul inquired. "It's owner owes me a debt and before you arrived, I was on my way to take the factory by force of military arms," Xizor replied.

"Then go ahead and do that but make sure to send out a call to arms for all your other affiliate organizations before you leave. Notify me of the responses as soon as you get them and we will decide how to make our next move from there," Maul said. "There is something else: once we've finished our work with both the affiliates and the foundry, we'll need to see the Hutt Council. With the hyperspace lanes they command, we could be made even greater against the Republic and the CIS," Xizor suggested.

"We will worry about the Hutts soon enough but for now, let us focus on what we are each meant to do. You will stay and monitor the responses to your invitation while Savage and I take Death Watch and help your forces conquer the Foundry," Maul said. "Indeed I shall help you on that account," Xizor stated with a deep bow. After the conversation ended, Maul, Savage, Pre, and Bo all left Xizor to do his work and they made sure the others knew what they were doing next.

_I will also need to get back with Admiral Thrawn to let him know of our success with recruiting Black Sun to the cause_ Maul reminded himself. "Brother, what is this Kuat foundry and how can it help us?" Savage asked. "Kuat is a company whose chain is based on the creation of droids as a military or security force. The droids we destroyed before heading to Florumm of their design and not exactly the greatest one they've ever created," Maul answered.

"Meaning we could create a better force once we took it over?" Savage inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Yes it does mean that we could do that, Savage," Maul replied calmly. "And can't we design these droids to wear Mandalorian armor made by the iron native to my home?" Vizsla asked. "The droids could be made with the iron yes but armor would have to be reserved for biological soldiers," Maul answered.

_The droids would be too tough to require armor if we made them with the Mandalorian iron. So why grant an armor that would only make them more cumbersome and would be of the same material as themselves?_ Maul note mentally. "Then we'll need to spare a few of the engineers so I can teach them how to forge Mandalorian iron with the tools they have," Vizsla said. "Never fear because we will, of that you can be certain," Maul said with a nod.******  
**

******"It will be sometime **before I can arise from the trance of Battle Meditation but when I do, I'll be able to tell you if I was successful," Arden said to Thrawn. Thrawn nodded and said that he would await her return to the consciousness they knew to be the safest section of reality. Shortly after she went into Meditation, a communication came in that involved an officer requesting orders. It was in this instance that Thrawn suddenly had a plan thought entirely through in mere seconds.

He assumed this was part of the Battle Meditation since it had never happened to him before and gave out the necessary orders. "Intercept all the nearest squadrons of Yuuzhan Vong warriors and prevent them from reaching the civilian locations. Form a pincer around their forces whenever possible and gun them down from there. If you can't do that and you've saved your heaviest artillery, use it all and you'll see how they retreat quickly in the face of its power," Thrawn replied.

He repeated these orders to seventeen more officers and then sat back as the results rapidly came in. "Vergilius frontier reporting successful reclamation sir!" one officer said. "Very good and make sure you remain that way," Thrawn replied. Then he heard success from the Laertes, Papyrus, and Syracuse systems in near simultaneity with six other frontiers Thrawn had not even bothered to check._ How in the universe is this possible?_ he asked himself.

He knew that Battle Meditation had the ability to motivate troops enough to at least slightly turn the tide of any battle but he never knew it could do this. Four more frontiers and systems reported success in driving back the Yuuzhan Vong and when they did, his mind was so boggled... He couldn't see how this was all possible because of Arden's abilities with Battle Meditation. Nor could he see how she could have failed in the Schism when she had this amazing and powerful ability on her side.

The final four frontiers and systems reported in with near-perfect victory and it was not long before he heard them say that they had even managed to take a few of the enemy's planets._ Without knowledge of this ability, the Yuuzhan Vong will fear us and think we lured them into a trap. That belief should keep them at bay until I can add reinforcements to the frontiers that were nearly lost_ Thrawn thought to himself. It was then that he also remembered that Killik soldiers were at the twelve frontiers and systems closest to the Yuuzhan Vong territories.

They could still be used as a shield so that the Chiss Ascendancy lost fewer assets and destroyed both of its most major enemies. However, Thrawn wondered how much longer it would be before the insectoids noticed what the Chiss were doing and called an end to the truce. For all their appearances and the way they carried themselves, they were not blind or foolish about what goes on._ It will only be a matter of time before they notice what we are attempting and despise it_ Thrawn warned himself.

And as if his thinking was too powerful for her, Arden arose from her trance and told him of her success. "So that explains how the frontiers and systems were recovered and we managed to take a few of their worlds as well," Thrawn stated. It wasn't a question but both of them knew that it could only be answered as a question rather than a statement. "Yes, with Battle Meditation, such military miracles are possible and with Battle Meld, the wielder can fight and grant this power," she said.

"So this is the power you're trying to teach your apprentice to harness? It truly is an incredible power to say the least of the praise that I could give its effects," he exclaimed. "When my apprentice is ready with it, I will send her to aid the brothers unless you have other use for us elsewhere," she said. "Not that I can think of at the moment but I will be sure to let you know if something comes up for me that requires your assistance," he replied.

"Then I return to the training until further notice on your part," she said just before walking out of Thrawn's communications chamber. He watched her as he left and for the first time, she noticed her physical appearance rather than the functions of her mind. Considering that, before her revival, she had been as decomposed as though she were dead, she was looking incredibly beautiful. It was enchanting, almost intoxicating to a man like him really and he wondered if he was giving in to youthful indulgences.

_We Chiss are always prepared to fight and die for the Ascendancy but I suppose even with our training, there are still some things we can't help. Such as the desire to indulge our most animalistic of impulses from time to time but why do I feel this way for her? She is twenty-five millenniums too old for me and yet she appears to be only a few years old or younger than me_ he asked himself. And as if that weren't bad enough, she was powerful enough in the Force to sense his conflict if she really wanted to; that was something else that put him on edge about this little flicker.******  
**

******Count Dooku was troubled **by what was happening with criminal organizations across the Separatist worlds. So much so, in fact, that he didn't notice that similar syndicates on neutral worlds were also gathering for something big. As if that wasn't bad enough, he also heard rumors that the Republic was having similar problems with not only that but the disappearance of Kuat droid foundries. Though by no means comparable to the factories the CIS created, Dooku knew that the Kuat was the best the neutral worlds had.

If they were being used for something else, something that could jeopardize the existence his cause nearly as much as the Republic, he needed to act fast. But even consulting General Grievous for strategy tips could help him get anywhere any faster and with his Dark Jedi already dispersed... He was helpless as a young infant until whatever mysterious purpose for this union was revealed to him. "It's a treaty the likes of which, I have never seen," Sidious had said in agreement with him.

"This treaty in the darkness may yet come to affect us on a level that is almost as dangerous as the Republic. Why would criminal organizations begin rallying under one banner even if their hatred was just for us or just the Republic?" Dooku asked. "Perhaps they are tired of the continuation of the war and somehow perceive better profit opportunities if they destroyed us," Sidious answered. "If that is the case, then how would they be able to acquire someone with enough military competence to do the deed?" Dooku inquired.

"You would be amazed at how many military officials would join a third side or form their own if they could. We bear some of them in tow and I don't mean the droid officers or even Grievous for that matter," Sidious observed. Dooku gave him that point but then, he sensed a presence in the Force that he knew to be all too familiar to him. "What is it, my apprentice?" Sidious asked as his hologram gave off a little static.

"That creature, Savage Opress, he lives and he is much stronger than he has ever been before," Dooku said. Sidious said nothing but merely stared into empty space at the comment his apprentice made about the mutated Zabrak. Then at last, he stated the worst thing possible, "That means Maul is still alive and training his brother as well. Unless Savage has already completed his training and turned on him."

"I would highly doubt that milord though I mean no disrespect when I say that," Dooku replied. "Why is it that you say that, my apprentice?" Sidious asked. "When Savage turned on me alongside Asajj Ventress, he had not even touched the surface of the Dark Side. And while the monster was looking for his brother, he slowly became stronger and stronger.

"His strength could only have exploded like this because of training from Maul of which there would undoubtedly be months," Dooku answered. "Then when they reveal themselves, as they inevitably will, I will go to the world they reside in and see to their end personally," Sidious stated. "Is that wise milord, considering the risks to you if you do go?" Dooku asked surprised by that comment. "You are by no means strong enough to defeat your former apprentice at his current strength if he has also joined with your predecessor," Sidious hissed.

"Then perhaps I can do something militarily to stop them from becoming strong enough to threaten your plans?" Dooku suggested. "If they are amassing an army anywhere, I want the fleet you have on standby to be sent to crush it immediately. Am I understood?" Sidious immediately replied. Dooku nodded and with that, the hologram of Lord Sidious faded once again, leaving Dooku alone on Serenno except for his MagnaGuard droids.******  
**

**Sidious was still processing what** he and his apprentice had gone over when he received an incoming transmission from a contact he had not spoken with for years: Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn. He answered it politely, making sure to hide the anger held at the possibility of his fallen disciple's survival of the skirmish at Florumm. "Admiral Thrawn, it has been an eternity since I have heard from you, what brings you back now?" Sidious asked. "Time is but the only river whose flow we can not defy, no matter our efforts but I have information for you," Thrawn asked.

"Information? I get plenty of that every day in my other persona a.k.a. Chancellor Palpatine," Sidious replied. "You know the names Darth Maul and Savage Opress, do you not?" Thrawn asked. The Sith Lord went pale under his hood with shock that Thrawn would know those two names.

"Yes, Maul was my former apprentice and Savage is his brother as well as his first apprentice in the ways of the Dark Side," he answered. "They have come to me recently and I have allowed them the resources to start recruiting criminal syndicates for a third side in your war," Thrawn said meticulously. _Why in all the universe would you ever want to do that to me after all I've done for you!?_ Sidious thought but did not say. "And why would they come to you in the first place?" he asked aloud.

"They came to me quite by accident when I was exploring the history of my present homeworld. When they did, they were severely injured from a confrontation with Obi-Wan Kenobi. In exchange for help overcoming the perils surrounding the treasure I sought, I agreed to help them," Thrawn answered. "And why have you come to speak to me of this when you know they intend to destroy me?" Sidious inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I knew that inevitably, they would turn on me if they were successful in their conquests. And though I knew Kenobi defeated them, the Jedi Knight would never have the dishonorable ability to kill them as you would," Thrawn explained. Sidious liked this: Thrawn had helped out Maul but had done so in a manner that deliver them in Sidious' hands. "Have they proven to be a threat to your secrecy or for that matter, your life?" he asked.

"Not yet but I know Sith Lords well enough to know that these ones would think I was their mere pawn and try to dispose of me. So instead of allowing them the chance to act out on their beliefs, I have instead, allowed them to set themselves up for their deaths by your hand," Thrawn answered. "Excellent, most excellent indeed and is very much like what you would do," Sidious stated. "I thank you for that comment and I hope it goes well when they announce their location," Thrawn said, bowing.

After that, Thrawn disconnected and Sidious had to admit that he could actually take solace in what Thrawn just told him. Considering that without him, he wouldn't have been able to figure out what was going on, Sidious was impressed. He had suspected a hint of some higher power at work with the criminal organizations and while he had been right to suspect his former apprentice... Thrawn's involvement with them added a whole new twist to the game with the wild card that he had played.

**Hephaestus couldn't believe the **sight he was seeing with the military mobilizations before his eyes. Not only did Black Sun send their soldiers to try and take his factory but he also observed that they brought several thousand Mandalorian warriors. Hephaestus knew that his security guards might have been able to put up a fight against the Black Sun troops but with these new allies helping, it would be even worse for them. "Sir, they'll be here in a few minutes and they may be able to get through the door and wipe out the security force already there," said his second-in-command named Luis.

"Prepare fortifications anyway and let us all fight to the last man," Hephaestus replied. Luis nodded and went to obey Hephaestus' order, leaving the Rodian to panic if he wanted to. But for some strange reason... he didn't panic. Instead, he just simply-how to say it?- kept calm and professional.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Upon initial sight of the factory, Maul couldn't say he was very impressed with its design. Whether due to its location, which was near a couple lava rivers and carved into a hill that saw continuous doses of ash, or not was beyond him. Nonetheless there were no others in the area and he knew they were at the right location considering the coordinates that Xizor had given to him. "This should be a piece of cake, it's shitty-looking as can be and probably doesn't have much in the way of defenses," Vizsla said suddenly.

_I would not underestimate the powers this facility can throw at us if I were you. Even with your skills as a Mandalorian warrior, Kuat didn't get the way it is for nothing_ Maul thought. Aloud though, he said, "I would be careful of those words Governor, remember that I do not look threatening except for the expression on my face compared to my more massive and brutish brother." Savage briefly looked at Maul with confusion but Maul's look in return said it all, Savage had learned to understand body language at this point.

"Much as I mistrust him, I actually agree with him this time, with all due respect," Bo admitted. "You still mistrust me even after I have made my promise to you and your Governor?" Maul asked. "A Sith Lord had made a promise to give us Mandalore before but look how that turned out. I'm still skeptical you two will help us out despite the proof you have provided," Bo answered.

"And why is that?" Pre inquired, raising an eyebrow beneath his decorated helmet of stature. Savage turned around to look at her and Maul ordered the troops to go ahead of them as he also turned back. "Throughout history, Sith Lords have made many promises to the weak-minded fools who dare follow them into battle. Very few of them ever managed to actually keep their promise whether because they died by the Jedi Order's hands or their promise was false to begin with," Bo explained.

Maul chuckled, admiring this woman's bold way of thinking especially since he couldn't deny what she said to be true, even saying as much aloud. "But if we are in this as separate, independent agencies bound to a single goal, trust shouldn't be an issue now should it?" he asked, very curiously. "So you look at this as a business proposition attempting to acquire properties and not as a military alliance bound on conquest?" Bo replied suspiciously. "I look at it both ways and that is the only way it can be looked at," Maul explained to her.

"How is that possible? I can only see how we should look at ourselves as a military alliance bent on conquest?" she asked, sounding as confused as she was if not more so. "While that is not problematic, trust me when I say that the business part includes persuading agencies like Death Watch and Black Sun to join in an alliance," he answered sternly. She said nothing more at that point, probably seeing the light on how the alliance could be looked at as a business proposition rather than just a military alliance.******  
**

******"The basics of Vaapad **are similar to the basics of any other style: it requires a base of Shii-Cho such as you already have with your sword," Depa said. Arden listened intently as the woman who was normally_ her_ apprentice was now in the role of the teacher to train Arden in Vaapad. "Lord Maul said that the styles that worked best for me were Ataru, Soresu, and Vaapad. Do these all work the same way with their need for a Shii-Cho foundation?" Arden asked.

"Yes, all three styles work in the same way on that aspect but in no others are they like that," Depa answered as she nodded. "And that is where Vaapad goes on its own to skirt across the line of the Dark Side without ever actually falling into it, Ataru is acrobatic, and Soresu is defensive. I could see how they would need the Shii-Cho base with their different objectives, however," Arden confessed. "You barely need to know more than the basics of Shii-Cho before you can begin training with any other style though there are those who use it as their primary style such as Jedi Master Kit Fisto," Depa replied.

"But surely the Jedi must know more than Shii-Cho and one other form?" Arden asked, hungrily. "Aside from a primary of Shii-Cho, Kit Fisto can also wield Niman and Jar'Kai, the latter being the incredibly powerful and unorthodox use of two traditional lightsabers rather than one. Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi who offended Maul, has an outstanding knowledge of all the seven major forms though he only ever uses Ataru, Soresu, and occasionally Jar'Kai," Depa answered. "If he has a knowledge of all the forms, then why does he wield only those three?" Arden inquired, confused.

"His knowledge of all others is only to how they function and how he can counter them with the forms he uses. Juyo, a branch of Form VII like Vaapad and Darth Maul's form, would not fit him due to his lack of an aggressive nature. Djem So, an offensive opposite of Soresu, would not fit him because he does not have the physical strength and power necessary to utilize its heavy blows. However, because he is more agile in build, the styles Ataru, Soresu, and Jar'Kai work for him though the third is more situational than the other two," Depa explained.

"And I'm guessing you know this from having seen him in battle, personally," Arden stated. "I saw his use of Ataru in battle when he was a Padawan and his use of Soresu as a Jedi Knight, shortly before my coma. But I have never seen him wield Jar'Kai although I have heard reports where he used it and used it as proficiently as, it not more than, either Soresu or Ataru individually," Depa replied. "He sounds much like Xendor was with our swords: versatile and using a few forms despite knowing many," Arden said.

Depa smiled and stated that she was glad she finally had connected someone to Arden's long-forgotten past. "Now if you don't have any more questions, I think it's time we began your training with the basics of Vaapad," she added. Arden nodded, smiling back at her colleague, and readied her sword for whenever Depa ignited her lightsaber. Then the spar that would determine how much Arden actually needed to learn about Vaapad began, mere seconds after Depa finally activated her own blade.******  
**

******Though Xizor knew he **had made an excellent choice by relenting command of the Kuat expedition to the Sith and their Mandalorian allies, he found himself bored. He knew that he was meant to play a part much greater than the provider of troops and some guide throughout the galaxy. So when Guri brought him news of Obi-Wan Kenobi's meeting with the Hutts, he had an idea. "Guri, tell me, what's the latest from the organization called _Occupy_?" he asked.

"Wait a moment," Guri answered as she went into search mode, her body freezing as she searched through her artificial mind for recollection of _Occupy_. Then she unfroze and was ready for a reply to give him that not only surprised him but impressed him with the information she recalled rapidly. "The movement known as_ Occupy_ was founded two years after the start of the Clone Wars and gained initial success in their movements dubbed_ Occupy: Senate Chamber_ and _Occupy: Republic Courts_. However, after the failure of both of those movements to send the point across to the Chancellor, they fell from the light and have since done many small occupations on in the Inner and Mid Rims," she said.

"Have they done anything of late that could help them hold their own against the debts that have undoubtedly accumulated since the failure of their most famous movements?" Xizor asked intently. "They recently conducted a protest on Malastare in favor of protecting the spot where the last Zillo Beast was found from fuel drilling. However, this one was actually a success and the Malastare government has put a sanction, forbidding the extraction of any fuels in that area," Guri answered. I must admit I never would have guessed that the Occupy movement would have a protest that succeeded; even with their overwhelming failures, they will still prove useful he thought silently.

"Contact the leaders of_ Occupy_ and tell them I have a place they can protest against on condition that they do it for at least two weeks and not a moment sooner than that before dissipation. Black Sun will see to it (through the money the now-dissolved Council owed me) that the bounty hunter Embo makes sure to keep the victims trapped inside their home from the outside by any and all means. However, it is the mercenary Asajj Ventress who will see to it that any who actually escape are either turned back or killed during those two days," Xizor explained. "And just who is the target if you don't mind me asking that, milord?" she asked.

"The Jedi Council during one of their meetings in the Jedi Temple in the Republic's capital planet. And when you contact them with this offer, tell them that in exchange for help from Embo and Asajj, they must make sure they have Obi-Wan Kenobi trapped with the Council during their protests. If they accomplish this and keep the movement strong for those full two weeks, they will be rewarded regardless of the outcome of their occupation. But if they manage to trap both Kenobi and Skywalker in the Temple for more than three days, then they will have a million credits going toward their funds regardless of their longevity," he answered.

"But if Kenobi and Skywalker cannot escape due to being the targets, they will then turn to Anakin's Padawan Ahsoka Tano for assistance. She in turn could escape and attempt to acquire the assistance of Senator Amidala in obtaining the ear of Chancellor Palpatine toward this. If that happens, the movement will be dissolved by might of the Republic police before their time is half up," Guri stated. "And that is when Ventress and Embo enter the fray, I promise you that," Xizor replied meticulously.

********Guri nodded, understanding what his plan was now but still had a few questions left. "Why Embo and Ventress of all the combinations of bounty hunters and assassins you could choose?" was the first question. "Embo is-shall we say it?- unique considering that not only does he wield a crossbow blaster rifle from Kashyyyk, he is also gifted in the martial arts style of the Echani and has a hat that can be used for many purposes from shield to sled. As for Asajj Ventress, besides her talents with Jar'Kai and her former alliance with the Separatists, she has a score to settle with the Jedi," he answered. Guri felt satisfied with that answer but she still had one last one on her artificial mind she trusted he could answer.

"Shall I reveal who we are or will anonymity be in our best interest?" she asked. "If they ask for a name, tell them you would not like to reveal your name or your association. But if they really insist, tell them that if they do a fine job of protesting on the Temple, we will reveal ourselves," he answered. Then he dismissed her so that she could go about making the necessary communications and sending out the necessary messages.

But before she left, she had yet another question to ask of him and he was glad this was the last one. Despite that, she did make a good point with that she asked: "Why do you want to hold the mightiest members of the Jedi Order at their place of living? You could just locate several neutral worlds about to come under attack from the CIS and let them have at it as they would always do before." "Having them distracted on several neutral systems has too many risks I'd rather not chance; it would be far safer to keep them distracted with something at home instead," he answered.******  
**

Then he added that when asked about the purpose, it was to protest about the change the Jedi Order had gone from peacekeepers to Generals who sliced and hacked hapless, wayward Separatists. Xizor and Guri both knew that the Occupy Organization was fully aware of the changes the Jedi had undergone and had probably been waiting for a return to Coruscant that suited their purpose. "Count on them wanting to turn their resources on the Jedi in revenge for the warmongering they have done. Malcontent and hatred of the stupidest kind is likely to brew in their hearts and rally them into protest more easily than say, protecting the sleeping place of an ancient animal," he stated.

Guri bowed, thanked him for those instructions, and left to go conduct them whilst leaving her Master to be by himself except for his thoughts. He already knew this movement would not work but so long as Embo and Asajj did their real job, which was to keep him from getting caught, it didn't matter. One more failed protest and the Organization would fall into permanent disarray regardless of their success with occupying the Jedi Temple. Xizor found it convenient that he was getting rid of an organization that had pestered him thrice before and keeping the Jedi off Maul's scent simultaneously.

It was very Sith for any man to think about his own purpose no matter what he thought of the needs of others. And Maul was lucky Xizor was willing to go this far to protect him until he was ready to complete the final phase of his ultimate plan. For even though Xizor's idea would throw off the Jedi and the Republic, it would do nothing against the Separatists and their nefarious leader, Dooku. However, as Xizor would soon find out, the worst the Separatists would do in this situation is use it as more justification to leave the Republic for worlds about to defect to their cause already. That in itself was hardly ever the stuff of legends regardless of the time or the war this sort of thing was used in.

******Hephaestus watched as Death **Watch and Black Sun's troops cut through the ranks of his troopers like a lawnmower to grass though not as slowly as that was when cutting through its target. Before the attack, he had had ten thousand biological soldiers that he could deploy against the forces that were before him and he was outnumbered five fold. Now, he had barely a fifth of that number and his enemies were nearly at his doorstep with their superior numbers and strategy. Worst of all, the alliance before him suffered no casualties and only a few wounded though these were hardly more than scratches and grazes at best.

_Shit, what do I do? They're almost here and I know for certain that they will kill me if I stay and fight! Damn it, they'd kill me if I tried to escape rather than being taken prisoner as well_ he thought to himself with fear. It was at this moment, as his soldiers were struck down like roses all around him, that he decided to make a break for it now. Doing so, he hoped he might have a chance to escape before being taken prisoner or shot down the very moment his enemies were at his door.

Using a secret escape hatch, he slid down the tunnel it hid and came out the other side in anticipation of running a marathon. The tunnel was about half the height of the factory and because of that, he was unknowingly entering territory his hunters were acquiring._ Maybe they won't notice me in the midst of all this excitement and I may be able to bolt to the shuttle_ he said to himself silently. What he didn't know however, was that even when he did succeed in getting to the shuttle, he had not escaped the watchful eye of Pre Vizsla nor would he escape the retribution Bo-Katan would deliver.******  
**

******Pre had to admit **that there wasn't much glory in taking the lives of these security guards due to their lack of skill with a blaster._ Where the flying hell did these morons get their training at, Kid Valley? Did they play so much laser tag that they won a certificate that automatically validated their ability to protect this sort of place?_ he asked himself in frustration. It was then that he noticed a man with nothing but a pistol running toward a nearby shuttle in order to make his escape off this rock.

Pre shook his head, disgusted that this man was the leader of the forces at this facility- who else would be fleeing for their lives to a nearby shuttle? Immediately calling upon Bo, he waited until she arrived from killing several dozen troopers with her flamethrower, their burns fatal beyond repair. "Yes sir, who is that you like me to kill, this time?" she asked. "See that man over there who's going towards that junky looking shuttle?" he answered.

She saw what he was talking about after he pointed out to her and she knew what she to do right then and there. "I'll get him down and make him regret trying to flee like the coward he is," she assured the Governor. Oh I don't doubt that, at all my love he thought though he didn't say this aloud. He was still surprised that his feelings for her were changing to where he secretly called her his love though he was still confused as to why looking at her sparked lust in him.

He watched as she punched in a code on her wrist gauntlet and bent over enough to allow her jetpack missile to fly out without hurting her and hit the target he had tasked her with taking out for him. At that moment, he turned away because there was something about seeing her bend over that sparked his lust even more greatly than it already was and it was the worst that it could possibly be in his immediate recollection. To distract himself and hopefully see to it that no one else noticed, he ignited his darksaber and killed a few guards who had come to try and stop Bo from attacking her new target. Then he heard an explosion that he knew to be a successful hit on one of the engines and watched as the ship plummeted over the edge of the hangar bay and down to a fiery death.******  
**

******Victory of the bittersweet **sort was near for Hephaestus and so much so that he could taste it. He had escaped the horrors taking place in the facility he had been entrusted with for twenty-eight years and could report what happened to the head of Kuat on Coruscant. But then something happened that changed everything: his engines were compromised by a missile or other projectile of that sort._ How is this possible, not now when I am so close!?_ he shouted in his mind and aloud.  
Try as he might, there was nothing he could do to fix the problem and he stood helplessly as the shuttle made its spiral down to the lava lake below the very wide base of the old facility itself. Due to being used to forge the droids, this facility was more than deep enough to contain a small Republic cruiser and would have no difficulty vaporizing his shuttle. No, no, no, no, not the lake of molten lava where we extract the metal! he shouted to himself. Then, as though death motivated it, he had an epiphany of all he had said and done as a living man.

It was at that hour that he realized that for all his talk and for all the work he had done, he had indeed failed to achieve the humble dream his brother had shared with him and fulfilled for himself. He not only failed to fulfill the dream he shared with his brother but like his more cowardly brother, he had tried to flee when his facility fell before him. And now, he was going to join his wife whom Xizor had personally enjoyed the privilege of killing by slitting her throat with one of his claws._ Forgive me sugarlips, I am nothing short of a big failure compared even to my brother and he's hardly better off now_ Hephaestus thought, making his peace just in time for his end.******  
**

**As Maul and Savage** rounded up the remaining engineers at the facility, Vizsla took a good look at the slaughter he had helped create alongside the ruthless Sith brothers he was presently allied with. Indeed Black Sun and Death Watch would do well together just by themselves though I could see the need for others to join us he thought. Bo was distracted with making sure that anyone they had fought and wounded was now dead so he didn't worry about her. It was his own self-occupation that he found most troubling so he decided there was only one thing to do: report success to Xizor.

And that was just what he did when he activated his comlink and told Xizor that the slaughter was glorious and any deaths honorable though this was far from the truth. "Excellent and I have just made some arrangements to insure this success lasts, now we are set," the Fallen said. Pre didn't like the sound of that and decided he would bring it up to Maul as soon as possible. He never did get the chance to do so before they were caught up in other things that required immediate attention from them.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

Obi-Wan was making his oral assessment of his audience with the Hutts to the Jedi Council when Skywalker breathlessly ran into the chambers, interrupting a private session. "Sorry to butt in on a private session guys, but we have a major problem that's probably going to be lasting for quite a while! A movement called Occupy: Jedi Temple is taking up residence on the front of the Temple and they're not backing down," he stated immediately as he regained his breath from running to inform the Council. Masters Yoda and Windu immediately turned around to face the front of the Temple from their end and the faces they showed after returning confirmed Anakin's words.

"What in blazes could they be doing there and may I ask if there is anyway we can request information from them?" Kenobi asked in outrage. "I'm not sure but it's late at night and they're waking up the Padawans and Younglings with their noise. My Padawan Ahsoka is finding it difficult to continue meditation with this going on," Anakin answered. Then the electricity went out and the backup generators, powerful as they were, would never have the juice to light up the communications center.

But Ki-Adi Mundi was able to see what had caused the electricity to go out and revealed it to the Council. They had just been blasted with a powerful ion grenade likely launched from a rifle of some sort. This meant they would have no power on the upper and middle levels for possibly weeks plus the explosion that marked the delivery of the package had caused a small fire on one of the Temple corners. "This movement has dangerous and powerful allies on their side, ones who may destroy the Temple when deemed necessary to do so," Ki-Adi stated after noticing that.

"Let's send an emissary out in the morning to ask why they are doing this. We'll have them come back and deliver their report before we then decide on a course of action," Anakin suggested. "Good idea Anakin, we'll need to be diplomatic about this though we do have the right to forcibly remove them if deemed suitable," Kenobi agreed. Everyone in the Council nodded and then Anakin asked what the Council was to do in the meantime; they told him they would sit and wait until morning.

**Embo was glad to** see that the customization that allowed his rifle to launch grenades had worked with launching an ion grenade at the Temple. He called into the _Occupy_ movement and reported success on his end of the chip before then communicating to Ventress. His greatest hope about this Dark Jedi woman was that she would be ready to stop any escaping Jedi.

Much as he hated the idea of working with collaborators that weren't fellow bounty hunters, he also didn't want to go up against former Jedi allies who had once fought with him honorably. Skywalker, Kenobi, and Tano had been excellent team players when he and several other bounty hunters fought against the pirates of Hondo Ohnaka on Felucia. Now he was forced to turn on them and while he admitted that he was not supposed to care about who he was killing, money no longer seemed to act as the solace it once did. For the first time in many years, he was actually thinking that he was beginning to develop a conscience and one that made him realize the badness of some of his deeds.

He wondered if Ventress was feeling the same way about many of her deeds and realized that was a loaded question. Sure she regretted what she did as a Separatist commander with few exceptions such as being able to fight the Jedi that had abandoned her first real mentor figure. But did she regret whatever it was she had done to get herself this far now that she defected? Then he realized there was only one answer: besides the failure to catch Savage Opress on Reydonia, probably not.

******Asajj Ventress received the **comm that signaled Embo's success with neutralizing the more important systems of in the Jedi Temple and started moving into position to stop any escaping Jedi. Since the fight over Reydonia, Ventress had taken to masking her face from the view of the public though indeed she could do nothing about her lightsabers. Leaving the abandoned apartment she had utilized as a hideout, however, she immediately ran into her first problem: clones immediately outside. Specifically, these were the clones assigned to making sure law was enforced on Coruscant in places where the police droids couldn't go.

_This is going to be a little bit of a hassle, a security force not unlike the soldiers I had fought while with the Separatists. Should I kill them or should I just try and at least dodge them? Or should I take a different approach when caught and just cut off their blaster barrels?_ she asked herself. Then she decided: she would try to limit herself to destroying their blasters but if they forced her to, she would kill them and not before that point in time.

Besides, these clones would be just doing their job and at most, they would have their blasters set to stun. There was no need to kill them if they weren't even willing to return the favor in the event of surviving her wrath and the wrath of her lightsabers. How she got so strict was beyond her but perhaps it was because she only killed the clones she got to because she was fighting a war, not scrounging around in a Coruscanti slummy street. Only time would tell if her new code was going to hold or if she was going to need to quit discriminating between the Jedi and their clone allies.******  
**

******When Maul returned to** the Black Sun base, leaving Governor Vizsla to handle the use of Mandalorian Iron as a base for the droid and suits of armor, what he found out surprised him. While he was away, Xizor had spoken with the Occupy organization through Guri and had bribed them into protesting on the Jedi Temple. Best of all, Kenobi the Jedi most suspicious of his survival of Florumm, was trapped in the Council chambers as a result. "But why at the Jedi Temple rather than on the fronts where the Jedi are fighting the Clone Wars such as in the Outer Rim?" Maul asked, troubled by this.

"That would have been too diverse seeing as there is at least one Jedi Knight in every single Outer Rim planet in places where the Republic clones has made contact with their Separatist enemies. To catch the most powerful ones, including your old foe Kenobi, would have been a far better prize for the failing organization. Then there is the fact that _Occupy_ has been so low on money since the failure of their first movements that to spread so thinly would require going trillions into debt," Xizor answered. Maul nodded, understanding that Xizor most likely made an assessment that he had Guri print out in case he needed to prove his point so he didn't press the matter.

"The means were fitting for the end, I thank you for what you have done for us without being requested to do so," he said. "You put me in power and unlike the Council, I reward those who help me get what I want rather generously. However, I did have a little trouble since money was not object for a gentleman such as yourself then this came up," Xizor replied. Maul chuckled, Xizor's confession humoring him which was something that few ever really achieved when associated with him.

"Is there anything else I can do to assist you, Lord Maul? Much as I may not be able to travel with you personally, I would like to offer all Black Sun has," Xizor asked. "You could have your troops watch over the Kuat foundry while Death Watch and I use the droids to take over Mandalore," Maul answered. "So that explains why you need it: you're going to make a base out of Mandalore and take in all the neutral systems that aren't picked up by the Republic or the Separatists," Xizor thought aloud.

Maul nodded and added that he would eventually sweep both enemies from under their feet before taking the galaxy for himself. "We have an ally who will see to that if we ask him to assist us in our conquest," he added. "I am very much looking forward to the day where I may meet this ally you speak of. My best wishes to your conquest and I will see to it that the facility is secured with my troops," Xizor stated.

Maul thanked him but shortly after that, his comlink began to beep and he decided to see who was calling him. To his surprise, it was Arden Lyn who had apparently gotten the hang of the new technology of this galaxy. "Lord Maul, let me be the first to congratulate on any and all significant achievements you have made toward the fulfillment of our ultimate goal of complete, total galactic domination. Let me also be the one to let you know that I would like to know your current location and what my apprentice can do to assist you there," Arden said immediately.

_Apprentice? She must have been busy in my absence to have an apprentice already_ Maul thought but didn't say. "I am currently with Savage and the Mandalorian rebel group known as Death Watch on the lava planet of Mustafar. If it is not nosy to ask, who is your new apprentice?" he replied aloud.

"You have heard of her for she was once a high ranking member of the Jedi Order and considered one of the wisest after Jedi Grand Master Yoda, head of the pathetic Order himself. I speak of none other than the fallen Jedi Depa Billaba who, like me, was put into trance by Master Mace Windu only to be revived by my power," Arden answered, proud of her achievement._ Depa Billaba... I have heard of her and of how she fell to the dark side after learning Vaapad and being sent to Haruun Kal_ Maul thought. He also knew in this instant that if he had Depa Billaba, one of the more powerful members of the Jedi Order, assisting his conquest then the Republic would have to face him at some point.******  
**

There was not going to be much more hiding and slithering around for much longer and he knew it. The Jedi and their enemies would know of Maul's survival whether before or after the fall of Mandalore. It was just a matter of if the occupation of the Jedi Temple fell through or not before he was ready. "Tell Billaba that when she arrives, I would like her to stay with the troops of Black Sun and assist them in the protection of the Kuat droid foundry we have acquired," he added after a pause.

"I will give her those orders before she leaves for Mustafar, she has learned a powerful new ability I wish her to test whilst out there. And I also think you will find it very useful when you get a chance to see it in practice," Arden stated with a bow. Then her hologram faded and Maul put his comlink back into its pouch on his belt, the whole thing bedazzling him.

One moment, Arden Lyn had been just revived and was confused as hell at the changes made in the galaxy since her time. Now, she was a wise and powerful Sith Lady training an apprentice of her own in the ways of the Dark Side. Maul would now have to watch his back even if Arden could be trusted to remain allied to him. After all, trust was a leisure that the blind and the foolish took for granted and he did not want to be either in his hour of greatest power.

All he had done since the pathetic failure on Florumm had been a marvelous achievement that more than compensated for that little skirmish. Kenobi may have defeated him and Savage through means of Jar'Kai but the next time they met, he would not have that luxury to use._ I_ will_ have my revenge, on that you can be sure_ _Kenobi_ Maul vowed silently as he left Xizor alone. As the imminence of his revenge became more obvious, Maul found it difficult to keep his anxiety in check.

**"The mob still hasn't** left the Temple and I highly doubt they want to listen to a Youngling emissary. So who do we send to try and reason with them?" Anakin asked before the Jedi Council. "Most of our Padawans in active duty are across the stars with their Masters, yours being an exception," Ki-Adi answered. "That's it: we send Ahsoka to try and find out what the hell brings this riot to our Temple!" Anakin exclaimed.

At first, considering the amount of deliberating already done on the riot and their purposes all night long, they couldn't believe debate was already over. "I guess that settles our several hour-long debate: Padawan Tano shall find out what brings the riot here. We will take the information to heart and decide whether or not to send her after anyone who can help us," Master Windu calmly replied. "I'll go alert her immediately," Anakin said as he left the chambers at last.

_To think that it took the Council this long to come to conclusions is an example of why we're not winning the war any faster_ he said silently. Though he would never publicly question the Council's decisions unless he felt they truly were wrong, he didn't mind confessing they were flawed. Far more so than when they had first accepted him to the Order twelve years ago, following the death of Qui-Gon Jinn and the end of the blockade on Naboo. He would continue to serve them despite of this unless there was a good reason not to though and didn't want to push his luck on anything.

When he arrived at Ahsoka's chambers, he found her just restless as he was and curious for the results of the debate. "You'll be tasked with sneaking outside the Temple and finding out why the riot is gathered at the front of the Temple. Do what you have to so long as you do not kill or seriously hurt anyone and report your findings to the Council whenever you can," he told her. "I won't fail you Master, I've been dying to know why they're here myself; does the Council have a few ideas?" she asked.

"Nothing real concrete but they do believe that the mob may have heard something about us that they didn't like. Either that or they are not used to something that has changed about us. Again, nothing really concrete which is why we're depending on you to return with info," he admitted. "Then I will make sure to have every single word they say to me ready to be told to the Council when I return," Ahsoka replied with a bow.

She grabbed her lightsaber and her shoto and ran off immediately, not caring to obtain anything since she knew she would be back soon enough. But Anakin watched her go and honestly had to admit that he was glad that she had been so quick to react to the mission and take it on. He wished he had been allowed to do that when he himself was a Padawan under Obi-Wan at times. However, this was quickly countered by the fact that Obi-Wan had done what he had done with Anakin for his good.******  
**

******"Do you feel confident **enough in your abilities to help Maul and Savage maintain their what is theirs?" Arden asked Depa. The younger woman nodded but stated that she wondered why Arden herself wasn't coming. "Because much as I would love to, Admiral Thrawn has need of my Battle Meditation here. The extragalactic enemy is trying to regain the holdings they lost during my first bout of power and Thrawn doesn't want to allow that," Arden answered.

"Is that man interested in only gaining territory and wiping out this enemy or does he have higher aims?" Depa asked, more rhetorical than not though she did need an answer. "Tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure: he doesn't appear to want something higher but at the same time... at the same time, he's performing as though I am wrong to think he doesn't want a higher aim. Certainly doesn't explain why he's helping out the Sith brothers either," she answered with a brief giggle. "Indeed it does not but perhaps he'll enlighten us at his convenience or at least enlighten you," Depa said.

_Or I could also use the Talisman's ability to rip knowledge out of a person's mind and transfer it into the mind of another whenever compelled_ _to_ Arden thought but didn't say out loud. Much as she appreciated what it had done in reviving her and helping her return the kindness for Depa, she was reserved about using it again. The price it had taken from her when she rescued her apprentice was too great for her to immediately revive the fallen Jedi and she didn't want to see it again just yet. Not yet anyway but he did sometimes border on provoking the need for Arden to pay any price that came with ripping knowledge from his mind to answer some of her questions.

Besides, she needed his mind intact and with its wrappings much as she may wish she could do otherwise. So long as he was able to provide a safe place for Arden to train her apprentice and be trained in Vaapad, he had his usefulness. And Arden had to admit that the sessions of Vaapad training were everything she expected in the style and more. She had a full grasps of the basics enough to complete her training on her own time though she liked sparring with Depa for practice.

In addition, she had managed to complete her learning in Ataru and Soresu and now felt ready to take on any Jedi or Sith she encountered. But not before her apprentice had a chance to reveal her revival to the galaxy and eventually the means by how she was restored. And Arden was counting on the fear that would surely emanate from the Jedi to fuel the power of the Talisman, thus sustaining them. But because the Talisman could keep them on the road for as long as they desired, Arden had often considered going to the territory of Thrawn's little enemy with it and battling them personally.

_It would be interesting to have an opponent other than the Jedi to face down for a start_ she thought to herself. Going along this train of thought, she knew that neither she nor her apprentice were ready to face down the Sith just yet. Even though they probably could defeat Maul and Savage together, she was more concerned about the other: specifically, this Lord Sidious. From the way Depa and Maul had both talked about him, he was not a being to be trifled with.

And since he had managed to keep himself hidden from the Jedi for most of his life, he certainly would make for an excellent mystery to solve. Plus, since he had been the one who raised and trained the fearsome Darth Maul, Arden had a feeling that he would be a worthy opponent to cut down. _Or perhaps he would be more useful as an ally than a mutilated, dead enemy_ she told herself. But in the end, she decided it was best to avoid seeking him out when possible and face him only if necessary.

Though she was painted as a killer by the Jedi, she was not one without morale as the Sith were. She had morale that she would follow to the letter and die for whenever and wherever necessary. But she couldn't help wonder who this Darth Sidious was and where he came from. Worst of all, she couldn't help but ask herself why he was fighting the Jedi and why he had trained Maul for it.******  
**

******Ahsoka was flabbergasted by **the hostility of the riot that had formed outside the front of the Temple. She had had to dodge at least twenty-five empty cans, seventeen spitballs, and at least three rocks being hurled her way. "What is your problem, people!? Why are you doing this?" she asked immediately and directly.******  
**

"There are some citizens of the Republic who believe the Jedi Order is not what it used to be!" a citizen with a thick accent immediately replied. This citizen had come up to Ahsoka rather boldly and spoken out, catching the Padawan. "And what did it use to be? I am too young to have ever remembered," Ahsoka required, admitting her age and desiring informational satisfaction.

At this point, the woman was silent which proved that either she wasn't the leader or she just hadn't expected Ahsoka to be so openly humble about her lack of historical Jedi or Republic education. It was then that the man who was leading this riot stepped out and introduced him as one of the leaders of the original Occupy organization. "I will give you the rundown as to why we're here but I must tell you that I can't tell you who's paid us to do this," he warned. "Why not?" she asked.

"It was an anonymous donation that put this as the price for us in addition to more if we keep Kenobi and/or Skywalker trapped in the Temple more than three days," he answered. Ahsoka was too surprised to respond as but instead, listened as he gave her the rundown of their reasons for being here. Who would want to trap Kenobi in the Temple and why would they want to? She couldn't understand it at all nor did she have the slightest clue as to where she could start.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

Outside the Mustafar fortress of Black Sun, Maul watched as the shuttle carrying his new ally landed down on the docking bay. Though he had been asked to come alone, he request Bo to have her Night Owls on standby in case she tried anything stupid. Trustworthy as Arden had proved, he was not about to let his guard down in the face of an unexpected omen. Plus, he didn't know whether it was a good omen or a bad one yet and didn't intend to find out in a way that cost him his life.

This instinct was especially regarded when she came out with a robe that covered her from head to toe in black and a hood that covered half of her face. Sidious did that same thing when he trained me; I never saw his eyes and thus would have no idea what he actually looked like Maul thought. The memory made him want to attack her right then and there but he held back in the knowledge that he wasn't up against Sidious just yet. "You are Depa Billaba, am I correct?" he asked when she was mere inches away from his face.

"It doesn't matter who I am, what matters is how I may serve you. But if it pleases you, yes I am," she replied. "Then how you may serve me depends on your ability to lead troops and protect a fortress. Once I have an idea of what other allies I will need to rally to my cause, I will go to them with my brother and Death Watch. In the meantime, I need this facility protected at all costs and you are the only one capable of doing it," he stated.

"Then you have yourself an ally to dispense to the task, I am gifted with the ability of Battle Meld. With it, I can lead troops into victory while motivating them in the same way Meld's sister, Battle Meditation would," she replied. "Excellent, we leave the moment I get a list of those I must seek in order to complete our takeover of the galaxy," he said. In the meantime, you will be my slave and holding down the fort with only Black Sun's troops to aid you he thought but didn't say.

I am more than capable of reading your thoughts, Lord Maul. Do not lecture me on slavery nor treat me as a slave until you have served the Jedi yourself she through the Force. How did you do that? he asked through the Force. There are many powers you have never known Lord Maul, the ability of telepathy to the extent of reading others' thoughts among them she replied, at which point he gave up argument as he led her to a shuttle that would take her to the Kuat foundry.

It was then that he decided that perhaps it was best if she went to the foundry immediately. The sooner she was out of his way, the better for him, Savage, and Death Watch. "There will be a shuttle waiting to take you to the foundry, report there at your earliest convenience," he said aloud. "In that case, take me there right now; this is my earliest convenience," she replied.******  
**

******Arden looked at the** moon on Irkalla and asked Thrawn what day it was. "It's Eclipse Day, a celebration the people host for having survived the Battle of Colomus. To them, it's a celebration but frankly I think you would find it an insult to you and your husband," Thrawn answered. Arden watched as the festivities occurred and she watched how the people played out the events of the battle.

"I presume you know the truth of the events of that day having seen them happen, yourself?" he inquired. Arden nodded, watching in disgust as the Jedi were portrayed as perfect heroes fighting against Xendor and his Schism soldiers. "When we went to Colomus, it was because of the supplies that we needed to keep fighting combined with the network of caves that would ensure their safe deliverance. But our enemy had beaten us to the planet, establishing a base and even negotiating barters in exchange for the caverns being blocked to us," she began.

Interesting, I've never heard that perspective of the battle before Thrawn thought as she continued. "You already know the events that transpired before the battle for Columus and the outcome. But while we earnestly and honestly fought for a foothold on the planet, the Jedi brought in weapons that once, they had deemed dishonorable such as the mace, the warhammer, and bladed knuckledusters.

"We were helpless was the maces tore our shields apart and the hammers shattered skulls and the knuckledusters did their work on those who were close enough for them to start cutting them up. But amongst the vile army of Jedi sent to fight against us, was one so vile, his soul is said to have tainted the planet and made it what it is now: Loki the Destroyer. My husband, being the courageous leader of the First Great Schism that he was, challenged Loki to a duel, hoping to end his reign right then and there. He never survived for Loki had sworn to destroy the leaders of the Schism even if it took away his life and he began... by beheading Xendor as I helplessly watched," she paused after that.

Thrawn gulped, shocked to hear that the Jedi would ever allow such hypocritical acts of violence to occur. "And that, is when something within me snapped and I charged into battle against Loki. My sword broken, my armor rent, and wielding nothing but a shield for my protection, I engaged the Destroyer who had killed my husband. Then, the convenience of a fallen soldier's death saved my life as I took his sword and severed Loki's fighting arm before slitting his throat," Arden continued.

Nothing like a little vengeance to fuel a person's fighting prowess far more than ever before. Truly, her life is a succession of miracles, one falling almost concurrently with the other Thrawn observed carefully. "Loki's death did nothing to stem the tide even if for a brief moment, it helped us gain access into the tunnels for a brief moment, before the Jedi gathered reinforcements. However, we were forced to leave and eventually, I ended up here on Irkalla where the Jedi placed their spell and sealed off the chamber forever.******  
**

"This place has the better caves and longer tunnels, something I wish Xendor had known before he was killed on a more tropical planet," Arden concluded. "Xendor was not strategically gifted, was he?" Thrawn asked. He meant no offense but he had to know what kind of person Xendor was, having looked up to him from in the history books for a long time. "Compared to you, he was far from gifted in the way of military strategy," she admitted.

Thrawn looked on, listening and showing that he was observing his information by stroking his chin in an inquisitive manner. "But his courage, his fighting skills, and his handsome, gentle appearance were all that we needed to know we were trusting in a true leader. That he was one we could call our ruler and one we could call King," she added. "Did the Talisman reveal what happened to the other leaders of the Schism?" he asked.

"I know a few of them were killed by the Jedi during Colomus and many of the other battles that were fought. As for the ones who survived, I believe they were either captured or killed, the Jedi wouldn't have let them live freely so that they could 'indoctrinate' future generations," she answered. "And I don't suppose the Talisman has cared to tell you which ones age in prison cells and which ones were executed?" he inquired.

"It doesn't need to, I already know which ones were most likely to have been killed and which ones weren't. Especially the elder ones who were very stubborn and clung to the faith no matter what happened to everyone else," she replied, shaking her head at the question. "Then perhaps I can interest you with a little something about the Yuuzhan Vong: they fight us because their faith decrees it. They believe they are the sole form allowed to exist because of their purity; all others are to be extinguished," he said.

"Faith always plays a powerful role when dealing with wars, I'm living proof of that being true. Before the end, the Yuuzhan Vong will be forced to realize their faith is not enough to help them conquer the galaxy and the universe beyond," she agreed. "And with your Battle Meditation abilities, I hope they will be realizing that soon," he said.

"Are they at their business again? I mean, of attempting to take over the galaxy but this time, starting with the retake of the systems they lost?" Arden asked. "Yes and unfortunately, it's about the Chiss Ascendancy Council (who restored my status as their member in the face of this threat) has requested that I take a few more systems from the extragalactic scum," Thrawn answered with a nod. "Then what are we waiting for?" she rhetorically asked before he guided her back to his military communications chamber.

******Lom Pyke strolled around **his office, troubled as could be for a man of his rich background. Prince Xizor of the Black Sun had recently put out a memo requesting all available crime families to meet at Zanbar. Why there of all places rather than opposed to say Black Sun's Mustafar base? he asked himself, scratching the back of his head as he pondered it. Seventeen other crime organizations had already turned down the invitation and six more had refused to respond.

Should he follow the lead of one of them and a most, respond only to decline? The memo was shadowy at best but it did attract Lom's curiosity. On top of that, Xizor had openly admitted to siding with Darth Maul, a rogue Sith Lord, and procuring an army. But what is there to be gained by siding with a rogue Sith Lord, his more massive apprentice, and a group of terrorist? he asked himself.

Money wouldn't be important to him, he was already far too rich to be bribed and he could retire at any moment he wanted to thanks to his success as a businessman. But then, yet again, security was an issue and when Xizor put in his request for a riot on the Temple... Simply stated, Pyke knew it was only a matter of time before the Jedi pursued knowledge as to the origin of it. Xizor owes me big for investing half a million credits to the riots Pyke thought to himself.

But then, yet again, he did have to remember that the Councilmen owed debts to Xizor and when he dissolved them, he had used the money to make outside payments. Ah the hell with it, I'll check this out and besides, it's not everyday that you get a chance to work with a Sith Lord he thought. Then he ordered for a shuttle to be ready for his departure to Zanbar as he down the glass of wine he had been consuming during his ponderance.******  
**

******Maul appreciated the gathering **that had arrived at Zanbar, a planet that Death Watch had conquered during their waywardness. Though Concordia was retaken, he had ordered Viszla to pull out and try to make it seem as though wild animals had attacked. He even ordered any evidence to the contrary to be destroyed as thoroughly as possible upon sighting by anyone. Now they were here on Zanbar and he had to admit that the turnout was somewhat disappointing.

Of the twenty-seven major crime organizations that Xizor had messaged with an offer of joining Maul, seventeen of them openly declined and six more gave nothing. Only three responded and they were present now: Lom Pyke of the Pyke Family, Keluda of the Assassin's Guild, and Scar Blenner of the Blood Raptors. He knew their anxiety to get things underway and so he decided that the sooner the meeting was take care of, the sooner he knew who was still with him.

"Gentlemen, welcome to Zanbar and as you may all know already, I am the Sith Lord Darth Maul and your host," he began. "Lousy arrangements for a Sith Lord, is it really that bad when a servant of Lord Sidious is dumped and presumed dead?" Keluda asked boldly. "Care to make that presumption true for yourself?" Scar replied, revealing five blood-red claws when he unclenched his fist. "Enough, both of you, yes I know these arrangements are not comfortable but I assure you they're better than anything that would give us away to either the Republic or the Separatists," Maul said.

"Now to brass tacks, I summoned the three of you and twenty-three others who have either not responded or declined for a simple reason. We are here to assist Mandalorian Governor Pre Vizsla led his group known as Death Watch to victory in retaking Mandalore itself," Xizor interjected. There was dead silence in the makeshift chamber as Pyke, Keluda, and Scar chewed on that for a bit. Then Pyke spoke up by saying, "Say you succeed in conquering Mandalore, how do you intend to hold onto it?"

"That is where the three of you come in: Lom Pyke, your wealth would make for excellent credits to fuel our ships, forge more battle-designed droids from Kuat, and begin an economy. Whatever the economy Mandalore takes on whilst it's under your control is entirely to your design. Keluda, if you'll join, your Guild's task would be to secure prisons and even act as the executioners for the more uncooperative prisoners in Mandalore's jails; they have all the elements you would possibly want. And as for your Blood Raptors, Scar Blenner, they would secure all entrances into the city itself from unwanted outsiders such as Jedi, for instance.

"Death Watch and the droids from Kuat would act as our army, insuring full-scale protection for our claims. Black Sun will provide us with traveling lanes on which to conquer other systems until we have made ourselves an established factor of the Clone Wars," Maul explained, answering as best he could. These are not fools, they will suspect a price for the rewards I have thrown in and obedience would be the least of them Maul thought as he waited. It was Keluda who spoke up next when everyone had had time to soak in the Zabrak's rather elaborate explanation.

"While I confess that the thought of conquering a planet excites me and while I have nothing against detailing my Guild to security, may I ask something? Is it really wise to start up a revolutionary new side in the Clone Wars? Inevitably, the Republic will find out about us as will the Separatists and when they do, they will be quick to try and stomp us down even if they have to unite and do so," he said.

Maul chuckled, even began to laugh, at the question in addition to the implications that Keluda had also mentioned. "You're right, they will discover our little collective but Xizor has taken the liberty of persuading Pyke to bribe the movement known as Occupy to protest on the Temple. It will stall the Republic long enough to establish ourselves as a factor and being our strike on Mandalore," he replied. "So that's why Xizor put in this unusual request: to buy you time!" Pyke shouted.

"I assure you, Lom Pyke, I had not thought of it and when Xizor informed me, I was truly impressed with his genius," Maul admitted. "Please, it was hardly a stroke of genius on my part nor do I think it could be considered a prelude to a new war," Xizor stated. Vizsla looked at Maul with a snarl but Maul gave him a nod of his head that confirmed any suspicions the Mandalorian had.

"But casting that aside, consider this gentleman. If you join me, what you have to devote is insignificant compared to what you will gain when we're through. Doesn't it sound like a glorious cause in which to participate?" Maul asked. "I'm an assassin by trade, not a soldier or even a security guard; when I chose to accept Xizor's call, I didn't think it would be on this scale," Keluda answered.

Scar Blenner admitted surprise as well and both of them immediately put their hands down to not joining. Unfortunately, as if to add insult to injury, both of them left too quickly for Maul to order Savage to destroy them. "Hell with it, my money's not going to the grave with me nor is it going to magically disappear so long as my stocks are properly invested," Pyke stated. "So you would make such a massive gambit?" Xizor inquired.

"Just as long as one condition is followed to the letter: because the Mustafarian Kuat foundry is the best and the fastest, I want five hundred thousand droids on my homeworld. I want ten thousand at every other base as soon as is convenient for you," Lom replied. "And how many other bases are there?" Vizsla asked. "Only ten, totaling my order out to six-hundred thousand droid soldiers," Lom answered.

"Fair enough, we have already loaded that many into ships awaiting deliverance to wherever they are needed. However, to ensure that you do not slink your way out of any mishaps with them, we will need something a little more substantial than money," Xizor warned. "Besides, your money has better uses not covering expenses for any and all damages unrelated to military purposes," Maul agreed. "My lands have some of the best mines of Mandalorian Iron and Cortosis in the galaxy: Iron for the droids, cortosis for blasters and any other weapons they may use," Lom snapped.

"Then you have yourself a deal, six hundred thousand droids to be delivered to all locations you give in exchange for access to half the iron and cortosis mined. The other half can be used for your own purposes should you decide to open foundries of your own based on Kuat design," Xizor said. Lom shrugged and shook Xizor's hand as well as Maul's to ensure a witness to the contract. "An interesting collective if you don't mind me saying so," Lom stated, happy to partake in something big.

"And that is what we are: a collective of organizations hell-bent on the destruction of the Jedi and the Separatist enemies. Harbingers of doom, we are the deliverers of vengeance from the unknown voices of the universe: we are the Shadow Collective. And our pact, our treaty in the darkness, will see to the fulfillment of our designs," Maul replied in agreement. "We will have our revenge, my brother," Savage said excitedly.******  
**

**"If willing to destroy **the Temple, the attacker is then to great lengths they will go to keep from getting caught," Yoda said. "What we need to do, first free ourselves of the mob outside through orders for martial law from the Chancellor, I've got the emergency codes for requesting service available. Then, we need to have someone investigate the reasons as to why it happened and how after we restore communications," Anakin demanded. "Are these codes ready in a chip that can be carried directly to the Chancellor's chambers?" Master Windu asked.

"Yes and I propose, since the mob has a grudge only against us, that we send my Padawan once more to do this," Anakin answered. "It will be dangerous for there are those who wouldn't see the mission done though I admit I wouldn't trust a youngling to have the capability," Obi-Wan agreed. "Is your Padawan ready for travel and if not, will she be soon enough?" Ki-Adi Mundi inquired. "All you need to do is permit me to give the order and she will see it done," Anakin replied with a proud nod.

The Council thought long and hard, debating with itself whether or not Ahsoka would be worthy of more than being a messenger. "May I remind everyone in the Council that the mob is after the entrapment of the Masters and any action we take to free ourselves would make us look bad? Whoever funded this protest knows that if we Jedi took physical action against the mob, it would ruin our image. But as Master Skywalker has suggested, we cannot simply just sit and do nothing nor can we think to have a Youngling do a job beyond their abilities," Plo Koon suddenly spoke up.

"You've never agreed with me before Master Plo except to add your own knowledge in, why start now?" Anakin asked. "Besides this being a desperate measure, your means of handling entrapments of this sort are far handier than any at my disposal," Plo answered. "It's settled then: Ahsoka Tano will deliver Skywalker's chip to the Chancellor. The Chancellor will then order a battalion of clone law enforcement to disperse the mob and free the Temple up for repairs," Windu declared.

"And since the Chancellor can currently only be reached by Senators without appointment, I had delivery droids run request messages to Senator Amidala. She's accepted and agrees to send a handmaiden to meet Ahsoka at the point between the upper city and the Underworld," Anakin said. Then the Council was adjourned and Anakin ran back down to Ahsoka's chambers to start her off.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

Ahsoka Tano received the orders and mission details that Anakin had given her. She was to travel by way of tunnels in the Underworld and meet one of Amidala's at an entrance. But this was not just any entrance: this was one closest to Padme's residence in order for delivery to be more efficient. The coordinates for the entrance were in her datapad so that all she had to do was follow and avoid as much contact with other people as possible until then. Luckily, most people in the Underworld were too busy with their own secret activities to care for one teenage Togruta much.

Especially one that didn't show off her status as a Jedi though she wondered how long that would last. Dealing with punk criminals who were soon given a run for their money was one thing but what about the one who put out the Temple's electricity? They had to be very dangerous to do that and if they found a Jedi Padawan had escaped the Temple, who knows what would happen? Ahsoka had to be on her guard for anything but she especially needed to be alert for that specific bounty hunter.

Or was it someone more powerful than a bounty hunter? What if the person in question was actually a Force-sensitive warrior trained and paid to kill Jedi? Though uncommon, such people were not unheard of and it wasn't common for a few Jedi-slayers to reveal themselves here. Plus, Ahsoka had encountered one in the form of Aurra Sing and was not about to forget it anytime soon.

She had also encountered two more in the form of General Grievous and Asajj Ventress, both of whom had proven superior in skill to her. And while she honestly could say she felt a disturbance in the Force at the thought of Ventress, she wasn't sure why. The woman had disappeared off the radar after Sullust until she helped Kenobi fight Darth Maul and Savage on Reydonia. Then she disappeared back into the darkness once more... could this be her return to action, in the heart of the Republic?******  
**

******"Why did you even **consult with a Jedi emissary in the first place? The whole idea of this protest is to occupy the Temple and force them into our terms. Not negotiate with them or offer them a chance at a truce of any kind!" Ventress exclaimed into her comlink. "When she arrived, you could tell we had them scared senseless; why keep fighting when we've already won?" replied an Occupy leader.

"For starters, the Jedi are very good at turning any victory for an enemy one that bites them back in the ass and brings them down! And for another, who is 'she'?" Ventress snapped. "She said her name was Ahsoka, she was a Togruta," the leader calmly answered. _So they sent Skywalker's filthy, obnoxious little pet back into action, eh?_ Ventress asked herself.

"Where is Padawan Tano now?" she asked aloud. "Last time Embo saw her, she was heading into a tunnel that led into the Underworld then near the residence of none other than Senator Amidala. And I would have had him shoot her down but she was too far out of range and she would've deflected the bolts anyway," the leader answered. _Amongst all the talents that little child possesses, deflecting blaster bolts _is_ indeed one of them_ Ventress silently admitted.

"Shall I have Embo pursue her?" he asked after a moment's pause. "No, leave her to me but have Embo stand by as backup should I fail to stop her from her mission," she answered. "And what mission is that, precisely?" he inquired. "To get help directly from the Chancellor, of course, what else?" she replied.

Then she put aside her comlink and even disconnected it so that he couldn't reply to her with his comments. Just because I'm an ally of yours doesn't mean I answer to you like all those other puppets you have. I'm not paid to be here from your pocket, after all she thought but didn't say. Readying her lightsabers and donning on her mask, she began her pursuit of Padawan Ahsoka Tano of the Jedi Order.******  
**

******Lom Pyke had to **admit that the deal he had struck with Darth Maul and the other members of the Shadow Collective was impressive. He had spent comparatively little amounts of his money thus far and in return, had gotten the benefits of having the Chancellor's paychecks. Maul will suspect this as will Xizor, neither of them are fools though I can't say the same for Savage or Vizsla he thought. And indeed, Maul and Xizor were far more cunning than the average person, such as Vizsla appeared to be.

But there was something about Savage that implied danger yet it wasn't because of his wits and cunning like with his brother. _Perhaps he's the brawn and thus, Maul reserves his fighting abilities only for the most dire situations_ Lom guessed. Would make sense considering what Xizor said about how Savage had dealt with the Head Councilman, Ramses the Undying. Loosening his collar, he was glad that it wasn't his head Savage was chopping off... yet, that is.

And as if the night weren't good enough, Asajj Ventress had called to tell him a Padawan escaped the Temple and she was pursuing her now. She might fail the job but at least I can count on her and Embo to deal with any loose Jedi cannons better than those pathetic rioters. _They're so backwater besides the mercenary and the bounty hunter, it almost puts a tear to my eye_ he said silently. Pyke was a thinking man and while he honestly liked that he had assessed Embo quickly, Asajj was a bigger mystery especially with disconnecting the channel they used.

What compelled her hatred for the Jedi so much that she would do this? Was it from her experience as the commander of the Separatist armies? Did it have something to do with what happened after her retirement into the mercenary life? Who knew but most of all, besides the Jedi, who cared really?

Ventress would get the job done better than anyone else and she had Embo as backup if she couldn't. Best part about that, nothing stunk of his money or his hand that the Jedi could immediately see. Investigations would be a hassle to handle but he was confident he could thwart off most of those who would pursue him for justice. In fact, he was counting on people coming because he would have plenty of goodies in store thanks to Maul and the Shadow Collective, something that made him smile.******  
**

******"So what is it **about these Yuuzhan Vong that make them so dangerous?" Arden asked. "Besides advanced biomechanical weapons of mass destruction, they have proven to be resistant to certain Force powers. Battle Meditation, luckily, is not amongst those powers though telekinesis, telepathy, and related powers of that sort are," Thrawn answered. "I bet they haven't seen the likes of what I can do with this sword, before," Arden stated.

"Probably not, which gives you an edge should you choose to fight them far more so than any Jedi of this present age. We only discovered their resistance to certain powers by way of chance: a rogue Jedi named Vergere accidentally discovered these little things the hard way, several years ago. When she wasn't evading capture, she brought this information to my attention because she knew of the Ascendancy's fight against them," he replied with a shrug. "What else can they resist or not resist? she asked.

"Besides what Vergere has told us before her unfathomable capture, we only know that they are also not resistant to Force lightning and energy-based powers of that sort. Plenty of ground for your to perform well when faced with them, if faced with them," he answered. "And how would I be able to face them, on their ground or is there another, safer and more proficient way of doing it?" she inquired. "If you're eager to spill their blood, know that you would indeed need to fight them on their ground unless one of their ships broke through our fortifications," he explained.

A repeated beep came on one of the channels of his communication chamber followed by a red, flashing button that he pressed. "Thrawn here, what is the situation?" he asked into the channel. "Admiral, we were fighting the Yuuzhan Vong again and the lucky bastards scored a breakthrough for one of their ships. We've managed to throw off the rest but that one is on its way and due to shots we took, it'll be crashing down on Irkalla in a dozen minutes or so," the voice on the other side answered.

"Copy that, I'll send someone to meet them when they crash. They will find her to be a most excellent treat even if they don't survive her," Thrawn replied. Then he turned to her and retorted, "Speak of the devil, it would appear that you have a chance to test your skills against them." "Just send me the coordinates of their crash area and they will be dealt with," she snapped.

"It'll all be available on your datapad upon detection of their crash on this planet. You will have to be patient for a few minutes longer before you get a chance to spill blood. That is, for the first time in twenty-five millenniums, of course," he calmly stated. "Very well, I'll play it your way and since I have this long, you have gained my trust," she said.

_Trust? A very dangerous thing to give a man such as myself. What's to stop me from ordering you to be gunned down if I found you too uncontrollable?_ he asked silently. _I can crush your mind before your lips uttered a single words in that direction, that's what would stop yo_u she replied through the Force. The manner in which she invaded his mind also proved her point and he knew he was dealing with someone who would soon have the better of him.

Unless he thought of something quick that would throw her off in such a situation, that is. But despite her ancient and sometimes outdated ways, he doubted she was foolish enough to buy his lies. "Pray that you never feel compelled to attempt my death again for it will be your undoing," she warned aloud. He watched as she left and rubbed his head in a vain attempt to heal it from her mental invasion of his brilliant brain.******  
**

******Despite the wellness of **the formation of the Shadow Collective, Governor Pre Vizsla was troubled. His feelings for Bo-Katan were beginning to spiral out of control and, as if sensing it and liking it, she was worsening it by showing signs of affection herself. Admittedly, he had taught her to be honest about any feelings she had for anyone but he found his own teachings difficult to live up to. Especially now that he wasn't insulting someone or mocking their lack of honor in combat as was the norm.

It finally came to a climax here and he knew that if he didn't say something soon, he would never have another shot at doing so. So when Maul preoccupied himself with discussing business with Xizor and Savage was patrolling the camp, he made his way to her tent. When he arrived, he was surprised to see that for once, she was not in her armor but in a dress that made her seem... normal. At first, the sight of her in a beautiful dress frightened him but this fright was followed by a sudden burst of excitement.

"Sorry, sorry for intruding," he said when he was frightened. "Oh no, you're fine. I just got finished changing anyway," she replied after squeaking in surprise. He looked back at her since he had turned away when he first saw her in the dress which he admitted was very beautiful.

It was a simple garb that rather lightly covered her body and could be taken off just by throwing off the shoulder straps. The color was a light purple that ventured on medium and the brooches were silver with a golden rim. Her fiery red hair was free as it always was even when she had armor on but it was cleaner than usual. It was likely that she had decided to bathe off the grit and dirt of battle and changed into the dress in order to have something clean to where while her armor was being washed.

He himself wore a light nightrobe that exposed his otherwise naked body to the warm breeze of Zanbar's night air. After all, the planet was a far warmer place than Mandalore ever was during its hottest summer and thus the heat was a little difficult to adapt to, initially. "Beautiful night, isn't it?" he asked, hoping to have a start to an otherwise, awkward conversation. "Yes it is but I get the feeling that's not why you're here," she replied, as if seeing right through him.

Normally, this would be a sign of disrespect especially when said in front of his fellow soldiers but tonight, he was feeling like making an exception for his most skilled lieutenant. "Your senses serve you well, there's something I have to tell you," he began. He hesitated, not knowing how he would say this since he had never told anyone he loved them since his father was killed by Jango Fett. "Yes I'm listening, boss?" she asked when he paused too long.

Unfortunately, the question didn't make it any easier for him to confess and forcing him to stammer on the first word of his confession. It got so bad that even decided to stop and shake his head, hoping that the look on his face that followed told her what he meant to say. Then she approached him and he was afraid that she was going to direct him out of the tent, being his equal on her ground. Instead, she just simply walked up to him until her eyes and lips were inches away from his own and what she did next surprised him.******  
**

She undid the brooches on her shoulders, letting her dress slip and exposing her nude body to him. He took a massive gulp at that moment and almost back out but not before feeling her hand slither its way up his face and around the back of his bald head. When she did that, he was helpless as she guided his lips to hers and kissed him passionately and without any sense of pace. Wrapping an arm around her hips, he allowed himself to be smothered with kisses by a naked Bo-Katan.

After a few moments, he undid his silk belt and pulled back long enough to let his robe fall, also exposing the skin of his body to the night. But not before closing the tent's flapping door so that even the more inquisitive people outside would not see whatever it was that they were doing together. After doing all that, he returned to kissing Bo and holding her close to him and kissing her rather savagely down her lips, neck, and chest. Then both man and woman became one and let all else melt away as they thought of nothing else but each other and the warmth each brought to each other.

And as both Pre and Bo thrust the thrust of procreation and lust, they unconsciously let out sighs and moans of excitement. The sounds were much too low for anyone but them to hear, but it was the sound that seemed to entice them even more to each other. But now, not even the fact that they were violating part of the code they upheld for each other held them or their feelings back. Unfortunately, this blindness to the universe also hid the fact that Maul had sensed this accumulating until just now.******  
**

_**So, the Mandalorian fool **has finally acted on his feelings for a colleague. Impressive, it will make for a good tragedy when I'm leading Mandalore and the galaxy beyond. Besides, no couple truly in love has ever had a happy ending regardless of what the story holos say_ he thought. On the outside, he acted as he knew nothing and continued to focus on the business he was discussing with Xizor.

"Do you trust your shadowy friend to do her job in our absence?" Xizor asked. "I do not trust her or her Mistress Arden any further than I could throw them. Sith are not supposed to trust anyone, not even each other," Maul answered. "Indeed not and what would our next move be in the meantime?" Xizor insisted.

"For now, we will do nothing except abandon Zanbar in two days. We'll all head for Lom Pyke's hideout on Mon Calamari and we will stay there. That is, until he delivers his final report as to the success of the riot occupying the Jedi Temple on Coruscant," Maul replied sinisterly. "It will be at least another standard week, during which we would have to evade the Mon Calamari and the Quarren peoples of the planet," Xizor stated.

"Lom has already seen to it that the officials of both governments see and hear nothing about him in that area, we will be safe," Maul assured him. "Nobody is ever truly safe and this stall we have pulled on the Jedi will not hold forever," Xizor warned. "True but it will hold long enough for us to be ready to deliver Mandalore into the hands of Vizsla before taking it ourselves," Maul said. _I like this man's trend of thinking, much like I was when I was young; he gives a pawn what they want for a brief moment and then he takes it away at the cost of the pawns life _Xizor thought with a smile.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

Receiving the crash coordinates on her datapad, Arden made her way to meet the Yuuzhan Vong carrier on foot. Before she left, Thrawn asked her to see if there were any officers with this caravan of extragalactic warriors. "If so, we can bargain for the freedom of Vergere or, if not, a standstill that will last a certain amount of time," he added._ Why would I want there to be peace between the Ascendancy and their enemies?_ she asked herself.

And top of that, why would Thrawn want to try and bring back a Jedi Knight who had gone rogue only to aid him spy on these creatures? It didn't make sense and no one had come to Arden's rescue when the Jedi of her time had surrounded her and placed her into the Force-induced hibernation. No one had come to her aid when she was forced to helplessly watch her husband be brutally slaughtered by a weapon of the old Jedi Order._ All I knew and loved, was gone in a single moment and now I'm supposed to rescue one of the descendants of the people who destroyed me?_ she asked both silently and aloud.

She knew what she would do instead when she encountered the Yuuzhan Vong, which was something the Jedi never did for her. If she did find an officer of the enemy forces, she would spare his life and turn him around to his own people. No one deserved to feel the pain that ate at her heart and her sanity as each day passed by except for her. When she arrived, she was impressed to see the size of what Thrawn had called a Yorik-vec assault cruiser: it was very big for a "gunship".

So it was disappointing when only seven warriors arose from its ruins, the pilot likely having been killed during the crash as the ship itself had been. Arden observed the biomechanical engineering the ship was made out of and had to admit that it did impress her. While an organic, living ship would never have the advantage of traveling at lightspeed, they were not to be trifled with. _How they became pressurized enough to handle the depths of space is beyond me and baffles Thrawn_ she thought.

"You, human! My name is Tsavong Lah, son of Czulkang Lah of the Domain Lah, holy domain of the Warrior Caste and I demanded to know where I am," the warrior in the middle boomed. _Good thing Thrawn had me research what his scientists knew of the caste system before I came here. Otherwise, this man would have lost me after he named his father for me_ Arden noted silently.

"Calm yourself, young warrior. You have crashed onto the plant Irkalla and I am Arden Lyn, fallen member of the Jedi Order and an exile here," she said aloud. It was partly true that she was an exile here since this was where she had been in slumber for twenty-five thousand years. Besides that, in her day, exile meant being place in that hibernation until further notice or after a certain amount of time.******  
**

However, because the warriors that defeated her didn't have time to do so, they sentenced her to sleep indefinitely though the Talisman decreed and sought otherwise. "Jedi Order? Are they the warrior caste of this area?" he asked. "We do not live by the caste in this galaxy as you do however, I must inform you that you must turn around soon as you can, go home," she answered.

"How? Our gunship is down and the pilot is at death's door!" he demanded. "You can pilot the ship, can you not? Pilot it yourself and leave your predecessor's body here for proper disposal," she replied.

"How dare you suggest that the son of a Warmaster pilot a gunship back home!" he shouted before ordering his warriors to attack. "Please do not misunderstand, we want no more trouble with your people than has already been given on the field of battle. I was simply offering a means by which this can be avoided," Arden said but too late for Tsavong to change his mind about his intent to attack. Her tone, polite as it sounded to her, was probably what had aggravated him into continuing with the attack he ordered, however.

_His power of reasoning, when faced with cultures he does not understand, is relatively low. Fear and anger, I sense at the rise of his misunderstanding of my intentions. Perhaps I can use that to my advantage in the minutes yet to pass by for us all_ she observed. Then she withdrew her katana and used a magic projectile to slice two of the soldiers at the waist.

When a third got too close to her, she diagonally bisected him and hacked down three more. Like with Creon before, all six stood where they had been cut by her as she had thrown her scabbard into the air long enough to do the deed. Catching it with her free hand, she slowly pushed her blade back into it except for the last few inches at which point, she paused. Time seemed to pause as did she while operating her blade and even Tsavong Lah was frozen where he was as he watched helplessly.

Then, as she had done with Creon during the revival of Depa Billaba, she rammed that last little bit of the blade back into the scabbard until the hilt clicked with connection to the scabbard. The upper torsos of the first two men spun off their bodies, revealing volcanoes of black blood. After that, the one who was diagonally slashed also saw the upper part slide off the lower one with blood gushing out. Lastly, the ones who had been fatally slashed fell to the ground as their lifeblood also left them, including one who had been deeply slashed across the throat.

"You've seen what I've done to your soldiers and usually I don't do this but I will renew my offer. Leave this planet in that thing you came with or you will perish just as cruelly as your men did," she warned. "And be disgraced forever in my society? Never!" he shouted before charging her with the staff that was in his hand.

His fighting skills were surprisingly good and the fact that the staff could loosen itself to coil around her blade was impressive. Nonetheless, any attempts it made to insert its deadly venom unto her face were thwarted by a sudden burst of green Force lightning. "You cannot defeat me here, not while I can call upon all the powers I need to crush you," she warned after several minutes of exchanged blows. "And I'm supposed to be afraid of a power of which my species remains outside?" he asked with laughter.

_So, you're one of those species (like terentateks) that has a genetic absence in the Force and thus, immunity to most of its effects. Impressive, such species were rare even in my day which proves some things haven't changed much_ she observed silently. "Oh it's not the power I use that you should be afraid of: it's me you should be afraid of," she said aloud. "You said you were a 'fallen' member of your warrior clan, why should I be afraid of a 'fallen' one?" he snapped.

"Because the Jedi do not believe in killing in cold blood even when necessity demands it. I do, on the other hand and will not hesitate, as one of them would, to take your life if you push your luck," she answered. "Good, then take my life if you can!" he said before renewing his vengeful attacks on her. But she was quick to intercept this one and, through the use of her magic, enhanced her sword so that she cut off the head of the living staff-like weapon he was using.

She also took the liberty of slashing the top of his hand when he went for something else that she feared he would use against her. Knowing he could not defy her power, he kneeled down and begged her to at least make it a quick death for him. Raising her sword, she made as if to decapitate him but instead, simply slashed him near his left eye. "Go back to your people, tell them that when you came under fire, you were the only survivor and were wounded in the process of landing the ship," she ordered.

Then she withdrew her sword and walked away, glad there were no witnesses to ask her why she had chosen to spare him or encourage her to change her mind. But that didn't stop Tsavong Lah himself from asking her why she had chosen to do so when she could've killed him. "The greatest realization of courage comes not from knowing when to take a life but instead, when to spare one. I am only here for you to see because the Jedi who defeated me learned that though not before they killed the man I loved," she answered.

"You must hate them for disgracing you in that way," he stated. She shook her head at that remark and said she pitied them and their successors. "Just as I pity you for being caught in this intergalactic war that will see the consumption of countless lives before the end, Jedi included," she added. "Then why spare me if I'm going to be caught in a bloodbath that is to your distaste?" he inquired.

********"Because you have a part to play in its conclusion thus destiny prevents me from destroying you. Is it a good part, might you ask? Depends on your point of view but I think you'll find it mostly agreeable with your beliefs," she explained. Tsavong smirked at that and had to admit it was good reasoning for her to spare his life when normally, it was a disgrace for him to be alive after his defeat.

"How big a part in events to come, will I play? Can you see that in the future?" he asked her before she walked more than a few steps further. "Second only to your Commander, yours will be one of the greatest though it will be tied along with that of another. One from your political caste who even now is a maverick to your traditions and customs to the point of only selfish satisfaction," she answered.

He knew exactly who that was and clenched his fist in anger that his significance would be shared by that of the most reviled of the Yuuzhan Vong politicians. _If it weren't written in the undefiable pages of destiny, I'd kill that man before he has a chance to share my glory_ he thought savagely. But aloud he asked, "Is the significance of my destiny or your desire for revenge against the Jedi the explanation as to why you spared me?" Arden stopped in her tracks, not knowing whether or not she would want to tell him the truth but decided there was no reason why not.

********"Actually, I'm allowing you to go because the orders I got to capture any officials of the Yuuzhan Vong are kind of pathetic anyway. Besides, while you might escape, they won't know why unless I say that there was no one worth capturing and someone would need to clear the wreckage. The premonition came before you ordered your men to attack me, leaving the devastation you see now," she said. Smiling, Tsavong admired her willingness to disobey direct orders from a higher military authority than herself.

Getting in the ship, he didn't even thank her or say goodbye before bringing his ship back to life and leaving Irkalla. She didn't think goodbyes were necessary formalities in their situation anyway and decided she would worry about enjoying the view of Irkalla instead. _Besides, hostile as the climate of this place has become, it's still a wonderful view to behold when you have the time to see it_ she thought. Thrawn would not be expecting her back for a few days or so anyway and it was almost exactly that to get back to his facilities, a walk to be enjoyed.

Plus the Talisman nourished and warmed her body the entire way, protecting her from the harsh night winds and supplementing her need for food. And as she walked with her sword in one hand, she wondered how her apprentice was faring with Lord Maul and Savage thus far. She especially wondered about her dealings with the latter, who seemed far more brutish than anything else. Maul was cunning and efficient, his position as leader all but certain however, his brother was a different case.

For as long as she had known him, Arden had the impression that Savage was a good man turned into an animal. It was a similar origin story to Loki the Destroyer from her day and she wondered what drove him now that all sense of goodness was erased. Did he even remember who he was before he fell down the dark path, anymore? And if he did, did he care as to whether or not it would act against him in the long run?

********When Arden and Xendor first discovered the powers that Savage and Maul could now take for granted, they knew the risks. They had tried their best to work around them while still using these powers to the fullest benefit possible but there were some that were unavoidable. Would Xendor have said Savage served as a good example of why they did that when they first discovered the Dark Side? Or would he have considered Savage and Maul nothing more than the accumulation of what he and Arden had discovered together and looked on them with a paternal sense of pride?

For all his strategic and military abilities, which were gifted beyond comparison at that time, he was not exactly wise nor was he diplomatic. It was for that reason that Arden had acted as his mouthpiece when they tried to gain approval to explore their new discoveries further than ever before. And despite her etiquette, formal background, and physical beauty, there was nothing she could do to persuade them from preventing the events that spiraled down to the ones that happened minutes ago. _One day, whether at the end of his life or tomorrow, he will understand what I've said to him to be true and he will thank me for teaching him_ she said silently at the thought of Tsavong Lah.

There was nothing in the plains of Irkalla for miles around and that was what she liked for going deep into thought about anything and everything possible. But as time went by and she did nothing but walk, she found that the days she spent out there came and went almost too quickly. She wished she had spent them a little better or that she had commed in for a ride after her success. But she could do nothing about it now and decided to go ahead and proceed with her plan to deceive Thrawn.

And as if the thought of him was tainted with the Force, Thrawn was beckoned out the door of his palace to greet her. "It is good to see you back a little sooner than expected though I'm surprised you walked the entire distance. But then, the Talisman probably came as an excellent help on that account, did it not?" he said immediately. She nodded and said that she could tell him what happened merely seconds after she had been dropped off by the speeder that took her to the crash.

"Oh please do, you haven't brought back an official so I'm assuming there weren't any," he stated. It wasn't a question but something about the way he looked at her indicated that it should be answered as though it were. "There were just dumb, brutish soldiers on board the ship with one or two pilots. One of the pilots came at me and I spared the other on condition that he managed to get his ship the hell off Irkalla," she said, lying at her teeth though he didn't notice.

"No wonder I saw the ship taking off from the surface though I could've sworn it was too badly damaged for that. How is it possible for the ship to have been repaired quickly enough for the pilot to get out of there?" he asked, curious as a little child. "You can tell your scientists that their suspicions of the ships being biological in nature have been confirmed, it regenerated itself rather quickly," she answered. Though he kept his calm even when his childlike curiosity showed, Thrawn admitted surprise at that comment both by his face and by his words.

"Truly, you have helped my people in more way than one today. You will be remembered as a heroine of the Chiss Ascendancy even if you yourself are not Chiss," he said. "I live only to help those that the Jedi could or would not even look at in their time of greatest need," she replied._ Because you are more useful to me as an ally than as an enemy, I'll allow you that bit of false news to put in_ she thought but didn't say.

********"There will be a feast and a celebration held in your honor in two days, preparations beginning within the hour. You have done well for us whether or not you know it to be true, yourself," he said. _Indeed I have done a great thing in the present moment for your people, Grand Admiral Thrawn. But unlike you, I am cursed with the knowledge that the events to come will cost more lives than all major wars to have come before combined_ she noted to herself.

After being left alone by her own command and Thrawn's eagerness to begin preparations for her honorable celebration and banquet, she went for the portrait of her husband again. It had been weeks since she had seen it, weeks filled with training Depa Billaba in the powers she now possessed. Weeks spent distracting herself from the grievances of the past that needed to be answered to once again. Once again, she found herself caressing the realistic recreation of her husband's face as though it would somehow bring back the real thing if she did it long enough.

_Bit by bit, I'm moving to avenge you, my dearest love. Soon, the Jedi will pay for what they've done to you, to us, and I will make them see how cruel a woman's love can be_ she vowed. A tear of bittersweet happiness and rage flowed from her eyes, something far beyond her control when in the presence of any vestige of her husband's spectre. Indeed, she would make the Jedi see how cruel a woman's love for a man can be before they beg her to end their lives, an end she'd deliver.******  
**

With Maul, Savage, Death Watch, Black Sun, Thrawn, and now the Pyke Family assisting, her revenge was all but assured. But then she began to wonder: what if none of these 'allies' were the deliverers of her vengeance? What if its future success lied not with these rogue agencies but with the Yuuzhan Vong, instead? They had powers that the Jedi would undoubtedly fail to detect until several worlds had fallen to the grasp of these extragalactic beings who were absent in the Force.

And as her wheels turned in that direction, she wondered if she should begin slowly persuading Thrawn to open up his defenses and let them into the known galaxy. She would do so through the Force and subtly enough so that he wouldn't notice her intrusions into his mind. Plus, when he finally relented and initiated it, she could plant the idea of forming a pincer around his enemy's forces. He would then wipe them out and at first, she would let him have his fun rebuilding the galaxy he would profess to rule.

And when he had done that, she would take it from him and rule with Depa as her second in command. Any Jedi who remained in the aftermath of all that would be crawling as slaves before her feet. And any Sith, Maul and Savage excluded, who were caught would also be forced to grovel if they hoped for a chance to survive in her new world._ By then, my revenge will be complete and any Sith and Jedi I capture will be merely toys to play with until I tire_ she told herself.

It was a brilliant, foolhardy plan and due to the subtleties of her intrusions into Thrawn's mind, he wouldn't notice her until she was ready to truly break him. She would reveal that the ideas he professed to invent were actually of her device and signs that he was succumbing to her manipulations. Once all that was revealed and she gloated for a little over her victory, she would personally execute him or else have Depa do it if she could not stop laughing in exclaimed victory. But there was one problem: why kill Thrawn when he was much more beneficial alive than dead no matter what?

She easily answered this question for herself by saying that she would only kill him if he became more of a liability than an asset. Until then, she would keep him around, serve him, and even give her powers to his cause whenever called to do so by him. She would adhere to the more easily practiced rules of the Jedi Order but would slowly integrate more agreeable Sith principles into her moral code. It was better to see the Force as a gray sort of power rather than one that had black and white powers.

And as her husband so scrutinously pointed out after months of endless work on these new powers, the only 'good' or 'evil' the Force had was power and the wisdom to use it properly. Improper usages of the Force consisted of examples that fit the Maul brothers and the mysterious Lord Sidious very well. The Jedi Order, in its entire existence, was also a fine testament to the improper use of power. Nonetheless, both had guidelines that were to be both respected and adhered to whenever and wherever possible.

Arden would see to their integration in the New Order she was creating with Depa. But what would she name this new Order, she wondered? Then she thought of it: Lynism after herself. It was a good name and it would serve her well once she completed her conquest of the universe's properties.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

The act of sex had never felt so good to Governor Pre Vizsla before he did it with Bo-Katan. Even when he had raped the women of Carlac, that had never really been for love or any other good reason so much as to establish his dominance over the people. It was never for any love, whether real or professed, that he had for any of those dozen or so women he had taken for himself. And while Bo herself had no involvement in his actions on that account, he did wonder how she felt when he did that.

When he did, she said that while she confessed feeling a little saddened and even burdened by it, she didn't let it get in the way of her duties. "I think that's what's been drawing me to you all along: you love me but you know better than to let it get in the way of our goals. But when it suits the times, you let them envelope and consume you as I've let mine do," he replied. "I learned from a good father before Jango Fett killed him, making me glad he was taken care of at Geonosis," she said.

"Jango Fett was killed at Geonosis?" Vizsla asked. "Yeah, didn't you hear about it on the news? A Jedi Master named Mace Windu beheaded him during the first hours of the battle when it was just the Jedi against the droids," she answered as she lied on her side. "No, you know we don't pay attention to the news much when we're making military plans for planetary takeover," he stated, smiling.

He found it difficult to hide his anxiety at being naked in front of Bo though she was also nude in front of him and they had made love mere minutes before. _Probably because I've never been in a passionate love with anyone before. Has she ever had any experiences like this with me before?_ he thought but didn't ask. "Well you know now and to think it would take you acting on your feelings for me to find out, hmmm," she said rhetorically.

"How long have you known that I had feelings for you that would accumulate into this?" he asked. She paused at that one, thinking about whether or not she even had known of his feelings or her own before tonight. Then her eyes lit up in remembrance and she smiled, giggling as she told him when she had realized it. "Shortly after we were forced out of Carlac, I realized that I had been upset by you taking the women because I was myself infatuated with you," she answered.

She immediately added that the moment she knew her own feelings for him, she had also understood why he looked at her differently from when he did with other women. "The look, particularly the spark I saw in your eyes, was more than enough to make me blush beneath my helmet. I haven't felt like this for anyone since I was before I became a teenager and it was for Jango. Then I was heartbroken by his desire to be a bounty hunter and his betrayal of Mandalorian ways," she admitted.

"How ironic, you fall in love with the man who killed my father and then, you fall in love with the son of the victim. Did you ever have any romantic ties with Jango or no?" he inquired rather anxiously. "No, it was never romantic: he was handsome, kind, and gentle but we were both very young," she replied, shaking her head. So what we have is as horrifying for her as it is for me he thought but didn't say aloud.

He merely looked down at the pillow they shared, his expression glum thanks to the implications of that thought. "Do not worry about the past now and let the future take care itself as I'm sure it will. For now, only worry for the present moment and consider that it is a good moment," she said, noticing this and caressing his face. Then she gave herself to him once more and vice versa, surrendering to the lust of their passionate love once more and allowing it to continue throughout the night.******  
**

******When Lom Pyke returned home, **he immediately began making arrangements for the transfer of powers to Mon Calamari. Maul, Savage, and Death Watch would stay in his personal underwater pleasure home there. Meanwhile, Xizor took Black Sun's troops and secured all acquired properties of the Shadow Collective, including the Kuat foundry. The purpose of this was so that even if the organization fell under for any reason, Black Sun would not lose its newly gained assets.

Last arrangement on the agenda: Pyke would offer his wealth to insure that the droids ready to fight for Death Watch received quality transportation to Mandalore when the time came. After he made sure all this was set in stone, he could relax and watch as the events of the riot he created unfolded. He had to admit that while there had not yet been any major acts of violence, the riot was holding out well. His expectation had been that they would be crushed before the first three days especially with Kenobi and Skywalker on the premise, only for neither to be capable of anything of the sort.

Instead, both Masters and the rest of the Order were counting on Anakin's Padawan Ahsoka to get the job they needed done. And when Ventress disconnected her comlink to him, he wondered if she somehow sensed who he was, having mastery of the Force herself. Then, yet again, the Jedi had not sensed his handiwork in this riot and they were some of the most powerful beings in the galaxy. _Truly a sign that the Dark Side will aid those who wield it to a victory above and beyond anything before_ he observed.

And as unexpected as it was, a hologram of Maul formed after he answered the beeping of his comlink. "Have the necessary preparations been set in motion?" he asked immediately. "I've sent out the memo to my secretaries on Mon Calamari and here on Coruscant. They'll have the place ready for your use in no more than another standard day or so," Pyke answered.

"Excellent and how has the riot been going so far?" Maul inquired. _Should I admit the full details to him or should I just tell him that it's holding well?_ he asked himself silently. Then he decided, in order to keep Maul from waiting too long, to just go with the latter choice. "To my surprise, it's holding out well and may hold out until we're ready to launch the final assault," he said aloud.

"Excellent, I shall communicate with you when we arrive at your pleasure house and I will be sure to be back with details of your involvement in the assault. That is, if you're still interested by the time I'm through explaining," Maul said. "Milord, I am on the winning side, why would I want to divert now?" Pyke asked rhetorically. Maul smiled and bade him farewell after complimenting the docile nature of his comment.

Then he disconnected communications with Pyke, who then took a deep breath and sipped at the wine in his glass. It was the finest legal quality that he could find in the galaxy and even so, it was still very good for when one was deep in thought._ If the riot ends prematurely, I may have the Jedi knocking on my door especially if they trace communications to my quarters_ he thought. The Jedi could do it since they had droids who'd navigate channels in nanoseconds.

What happened when they did? Would he be arrested and forced to tell why he did it? Or would they blatantly kill him in cold blood despite the need to adhere to their ways about that? They did sometimes deem war criminals too dangerous to be kept alive and would disobey conduct for that.

He knew his wealth would be all channeled at helping the Shadow Collective if that did happen but how would it be spent? Maul, Xizor, and Vizsla would have undenied access to so much more than they had probably ever seen in their lives. Would they use it to satisfy the aims of the Collective or would they divide it with the spoils of war? He decided he didn't need to worry about any of that until the day came when the riot was dispersed; a decision he would regret making.******  
**

******Ahsoka was making her **way along the tunnel when suddenly, from the shadows, two red beams of energy hissed to life and a dark form jumped at her. She ignited her own blades just in time to intercept the blow and even planned it so that she rolled on her back and threw her assailant off her feet. "I don't want to fight you, please let me go and I will be certain to overlook this!" she warned just before the masked assailant got back on their feet. "You don't remember me, do you youngling?" the masked woman, judging by the voice, asked.

"Have we met before?" Ahsoka asked, not observing the hilts of the lightsabers. "We fought before, only you had the aid of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli then. And I was on a mission to rescue Nute Gunray from Republic clutches when we met that time," the masked woman replied as she pressed a button that peeled it back. The face beneath was one that Ahsoka did know: that of Asajj Ventress, an old enemy from another time.

"Working for someone to prevent me from delivering what I have to Senator Amidala?" Ahsoka asked. "Oh yes and they're paying me a handsome two million credits to ensure the riot lasts at least a week. Half if it fails beforehand but I manage to kill an escaping Jedi, a win for me either way," Asajj answered. Then she suddenly threw out black balls of energy that Ahsoka only knew to deflect with her lightsaber.

Luckily, they did not explode upon contact but were destroyed instead. However, when Ventress attacked her again, she was barely ready for it. For several long minutes, the two of them exchanged blows with Ahsoka occasionally grazing a surprised Ventress with her shoto. "You've gotten better since we last met but you're still not putting up a good fight like one you once offered Grievous," Ventress mocked.

"I'm hardly using my full ability, I'm just stalling," Ahsoka replied. Before Ventress could ask what she was stalling for, a battalion of red painted clones appeared from nowhere and shot at her. During this chaos, Ahsoka slipped away and managed to do so long enough for Ventress to peel her mask back on and slash out the barrels of their rifles. "Now stay here or I'll kill you!" Ventress hissed at them before continuing her pursuit of Ahsoka.

_So far, the new morality check is working out good. Let's just hope it keeps that way while I'm in pursuit of this young brat_ she thought as she threw a thermal detonator at the Padawan. Ahsoka turned to see it when she heard the beeping and immediately found a piece of junk big enough to shield her and raised it in front of her. It was long enough for Ventress to get close to her though Ahsoka then turned the piece of metal plating on Ventress' side and fled once more.******  
**

_She knows she's not powerful enough to defeat me on my ground and is trying to move me to hers. Skywalker's little pet has learned a couple of his tricks and has learned them very well_ Ventress thought as she threw the plate aside and continued pursuit. But then, using a burst of Force energy, Ventress caught up with Ahsoka and shot her with Force lightning to slow her down. "You're not getting away from me this time, you little brat!" Ventress said, thinking aloud angrily.

"I am not going to want to at this point," Ahsoka replied before bravely preparing herself to face Ventress. The explosion had damaged one of the pipes surrounding them and it was now leaking oil that soon created a fire that formed a wall behind Ventress as she walked closer to the Togruta. "When we fought before, you had the help of a Jedi Master, who could possibly help you now?" Ventress asked. Ahsoka said nothing at first and only ignited her lightsabers as Ventress continued to approach her with hungry desire for blood in her hidden eyes.

"I have nothing that could prove to be an advantage against you, so I'm making a brave sacrifice for the relief of the Jedi Temple," Tano said after a while of thought. "Brave sacrifice, last time I remember using that combination of words, it was shortly before Dooku betrayed me. More like a stupid sacrifice in your case, surrender now and I'll spare your life. Fight against me and you will surely die," Ventress warned.

"Don't worry bog witch, I won't be surrendering. By the way, my offer for a merciful death is still open," Ahsoka snapped with a smile. Asajj shook her head then proceeded to attack the youngling who dared to defy her now as she had when they first fought one another. Another brief exchange of blows followed and Ventress decided to reintroduce the magnetism of her blades' hilts.

Because she had not been taught anything about it, Ahsoka suddenly found herself being overwhelmed by Ventress' proficiency with a double-sided blade. It was worse when Ventress also switch between usage of Jar'Kai and S-shaped saberstaff she held when she magnetized the pommels. The duel was going sour fast but Ahsoka did manage to throw her enemy off with kicks and parries that were unexpected every now and then. But Ventress was proving superior and Ahsoka knew that if she didn't hold out until Senator Amidala's maid arrived, which would be any minute, she had failed the mission.

Then it appeared to fail when Ventress destroyed the shoto, hacked her lightsaber out of her hand, and kicked her to the ground. Ahsoka knew she would never be able to fight again when Ventress then stood over her stomach and chest and crossed her lightsabers over her neck. "Surrender, much as I hate saying it, you've been a good fight!" Ventress demanded. At that moment, Ahsoka heard a speeder and knew the maiden had arrived, her mission completed with what she did next.

Using the Force, she opened her pocket (which was not blocked by Ventress' body) levitated the chip out of it, and gave it to the maiden. "Go now while you still can, Handmaiden Dorme! Get that to Padme and have her give it to the Chancellor!" she said after using Ventress' disorientation to her advantage. Dorme said nothing but nodded as she took the chip from in the air and took off, having not even dismounted the speeder when she saw what was happening.

Angered and even growling beneath her mask, Ventress demanded to know what was in the chip that was so important. "Orders the Chancellor can implement for martial law against the riot which will then be forcibly removed from the Temple, even if it means killing the rioters. You've failed again Ventress and whoever is paying you will not be pleased!" Ahsoka exclaimed in reply. _Thanks to Embo, there's still time to salvage what I can from this even if it means killing Amidala_ Ventress thought silently.

Despite that thought, she was too angry to not do something in the meantime and so she scissored off Ahsoka's head in frustration. The severed head of the young Padawan rolled away from the stump a little ways until the top was facing it as if to show proof of the successful decapitation. Sighing in disappointment, Ventress turned on her comlink and decided to immediately send a message out to Embo. "Hey Embo, Ahsoka sacrificed herself and delivered something of significance to Senator Amidala's maid who will give it to her Mistress; I need the delivery stopped by any means!" she said before disconnecting once more.

**When Embo got Ventress' **one-way message, he knew what to do and where to go immediately. Using his incredible leaping and running abilities, he covered ground quicker than most types of speeders and arrived at the Amidala residence in minutes. He realized that he probably hadn't beaten the maid to the place but that didn't matter so long as he could get to the Senator herself. _Besides, the credits spent on this are coming out of someone else's pocket and not mine_ he reminded himself.

After having his pet Anooba sniff the air to confirm his suspicions, he readied himself to use the ion grenade-launching upgrade again. It had worked before and he had the feeling it would work again, a feeling confirmed when it not only launched and hit the building but also knocked out all the power. Even the speeders wouldn't work now that the damage was done at this magnitude, something that pleased Embo even more about the upgrade. One thing was for certain, it was going to be one crazy bantha chase before this was over, even if he did fail to catch the Senator.

Debating whether or not he should fire any shots when Amidala showed herself, he had his Anooba sniff around yet again. When it returned, it confirmed to him that his targets were trapped and any shots he fired off could be warning ones. Ones that told the Senator to stay where she was or else she ran the risk of being gunned down and killed instantly. And if she were wise, she would at least wait until she could receive Jedi assistance before she tried such a folly move. In fact, unlike most bounty hunters who might be faced with this sort of situation, Embo was counting on her to wait.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

Three days after Ahsoka's sacrifice, Senator Amidala managed to deliver the chip to the Chancellor. Upon delivery, the Chancellor immediately put in the order and rallied a group of shock trooper clones who ended the riot. After a week and four days, it was all over for the stall that held the Jedi Order at bay and even had the Council on its knees. Despite that victory combined with the restoration of the communications center, Skywalker was at a loss for words as to what happened to his Padawan.

When he first met her on Christophsis, he had been very reluctant to take her and had even voiced as much to her and Obi-Wan. Now, she was gone and before her death, he had come to terms with training and even managed to befriend her. Though he was a little more public about how offended he was by her death, it was Plo Koon who took it the hardest. He was the one who had found her as a Youngling and brought her to the Temple, even taking the liberty of raising her for her first few years.

During that time, despite the ban on the formation of attachments, Plo had come to view Ahsoka as a daughter he never had more than his own niece. "Tell me Skywalker, while under you, what did you notice about Ahsoka? Any strengths and weaknesses that might have caught your eye?" Plo asked. His logic for this was that perhaps talking about her to the man who knew her second best after him might help address the grief far more than tears ever would.

"She had a knack for being reckless and impatient from time to time, something I think I kinda helped with. But she knew when it was a good time to activate her lightsaber and fight and when it wasn't," he said, admitting one of his own great faults. "When I first met Ahsoka, I was not only impressed by her connection to the Force but also by her kindness of heart," Plo added. Anakin smiled and knew that that was also true for when she was under his tutelage and asked Plo how he met her.

"How I met her is of no concern to what has now come and gone. But perhaps I have spoken too much already and should be on my way by now," Plo answered before turning to leave. However, Anakin stopped him before he got more than three steps and asked why her. Plo stopped and froze, thinking over how best he might answer that question to the younger human Knight before him.

"During all my travels for the Jedi Order, I have noticed something that Yoda would have one overlook in favor of what he defines as wisdom. He would have you know that the mighty, loud, and huge acts of courage that the Jedi Knights do for the galaxy keep evil at bay. The future of the Jedi Order might depend on those sorts of things for longevity as far as a relationship is concerned but it's not what keeps evil at bay. Instead, it's the little things such as acts of kindness people do to each other each day that keeps the evil of the Dark Side at bay, not the big courageous acts of the Order.

"Why recruit any Youngling if not for Force-sensitivity, who knows the answer to that? But why Ahsoka Tano of all the ones I could've taken back with me that day? Perhaps because even then I was afraid for the future of the Jedi Order and she gave me courage, still does, in fact," he finally said. Then he left Skywalker to think on that while the funeral festivities for his Padawan were concluding at last.

But before Plo was out of hearing range, he heard Anakin say that he wished Ahsoka had never been sent out on the mission. "I wish she didn't have to die," he said. Plo, who also had ill will towards what happened, turned back around, walked to Anakin and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "So do all who live to see such times as this but that is not for them to decide: all you have to decide is what to do to carry on afterwards," Plo stated before leaving for good.******  
**

******Depa looked out the viewport **of the factory and was honestly not impressed by what she beheld before her. She even said as much to her Mistress who had returned from facing several warriors of the extragalactic race Thrawn had mentioned before. "Did he ever tell you what their name was?" Depa asked her. Arden nodded and told her they were called Yuuzhan Vong and though they had managed to send a ship through, Arden managed to persuade the pilot to turn back.

"How?" Depa inquired. "Let's just say my sword and I did a little persuasion when he sent six men against me," Arden replied. "I see Mistress and when do you suppose I should head back to Irkalla?" Depa asked. "You will head to wherever I say when I say it and not a moment sooner, I promise you that," Arden answered, her hologram occasionally making static.

Depa bowed her head and bade farewell to her Mistress in a formal matter and decided to explore the factory. She was going to need to know where she could chase down any escaping engineers now that Pre Vizsla had taught them his Mandalorian secrets. Already, she had to turn around two engineers and kill one older man who tried to escape but turned a blaster on her when he failed. But she didn't just kill him: she deflected his bolts and combusted him before bursting him into flames with the Force.

_ The powers that Arden has taught me are incredible. It's no wonder the ability to conduct them haven't survived all these years: they're far too wild and dangerous for the Jedi_ she thought. Pyrokinesis, Combustion, Battle Meld, Lightning, Teleportation, Rage, Enlightenment and even Force repair combined with her skill in Vaapad made her very confident as a warrior. She had a lot of powers that none of her peers knew but would no doubt overwhelm them if they were faced with it.

Plus, she also could conduct Force Destruction when faced with a Clone battalion which would throw them off even further than they already would be. Plus she knew Soresu, Jar'Kai, and even Shien which could all work advantageously if Vaapad failed to defeat a Jedi enemy. Which had her wondering: did Master Windu know she was out and about thanks to Arden? Was he pursuing her and hoping to bring her back under Jedi custody and justice or was he busy with other things?

She had heard of Lom Pyke's ploy in the form of a riot but she doubted that would have stalled him very long if he desired to search for her. Mace Windu was never one to stall around when he wanted to do something longer than he needed to. _Where are you Windu? I thought you and I were good friends and you wouldn't want to miss a thing I do_ she thought silently.

While she could admit that she did feel something for him when she was a Jedi like him, she didn't think it was the sort of thing that would warrant desiring his search for her. Nonetheless, it was fun to mock his character now that she had been enlightened to the true nature of the Force. Had she been enlightened on Haruun Kal or had she been enlightened when she trained with Arden? The woman was a mystery but she had most certainly taught Depa so much since reviving her.

Because of how much she learned, it was no wonder the Jedi had rejected Arden and her husband when they first proposed this new knowledge all those millenniums ago. The years most certainly showed when Depa asked if the two of them would be going after Jedi yet and Arden said no. "For the moment, we'll be patient and see if they come looking for us first, Depa. I have waited so many years to finally have a chance at my revenge against the Jedi, I can wait a little longer," she added.

"But they will learn you have survived all these years, one way or the other and they will come for us," Depa warned. "Precisely why I am counting on it, as we speak, the wheels in my mind are turning. I think we'll plan a little surprise for the Jedi: one where they are the only ones who think we're doing evil deeds but everyone else knows we're doing good ones. We will fool the population into thinking they are violent criminals who want nothing more than to keep the war going so they can remain in charge.

"Much as I hate saying it, the Yuuzhan Vong will come in handy for this sort of operation. Especially if we raked up something that allowed us to remove any evidence of their presence and fool the Jedi into believing we're going on a bloody rampage. They would be the only ones thinking along that trend of thought while everyone else knows that's not true," Arden replied. "And how do you propose to do that, might I asked?" Depa inquired.

"In my day, there were those-myself included- who could manipulate any image we thought into one that gave our enemies the thought we wanted them to have. Meanwhile, everyone else would see the true portrait and wonder what the hell was wrong with that person. It would make them look not only like idiots but also like tyrannical dictators when it came to their point of view on something," Arden explained. She added that perhaps she could learn how to take apart any survey footage, image by image, and use that same manipulation technique as in her day.

"Then I could put all the images back together and while the Jedi would see the illusion, everyone else would not. The benefits of that are that if that fails, the Yuuzhan Vong could be a good team to ally with in the name of galactic conquest," she stated. "Why would we want to ally ourselves with them? They're uncontrollable at best and once they've done the dirty work for us, what's to stop them from also destroying us and ruling the galaxy in our place?" Depa asked, frightened by that idea.

"According to Thrawn's Intelligence units, the Yuuzhan Vong believe that if an outsider challenged their supreme Overlord and succeeded, they could rule them. That could work to our advantage if I decide we do that and they succeed in claiming the galaxy," Arden answered. "Thrawn will suspect treachery from you and if he found out about this, he wouldn't be pleased," Depa warned. "I am more than aware of that, my apprentice, more than aware," Arden said before that conversation ended and Depa was sent to Mustafar.

What was her Mistress actually planning to do with the Yuuzhan Vong and the galaxy that the ladies now lived in? One day, she was talking about how she would use the Yuuzhan Vong as a contingency plan should Maul and Savage fail and the Collective fall under. The next day, she was talking about how she would direct the Jedi toward them and into a slaughter. Now she was talking about how she would make the Jedi think they were doing bad things when the women were actually weren't.

Did her Mistress deliberately do this to confuse her apprentice and throw her off the scent of her true designs? Or was she so maddened by grief for her husband that madness had enveloped her mind thus making her think all these strange things nearly simultaneously? Did the Dark Side drive one to such a toll or was this the working of the Jedi putting her in that trance? If the latter... did Depa also have the building blocks for it that Arden was now putting together with and sometimes for her?******  
**

******In mere days after **the riot, Anakin Skywalker had already been involved in an assassination attempt on Senators Amidala and Clovis. They had been chased down to the snowy mountains of Alderaan where Embo and Anakin had fought in hand-to-hand combat. Though the Jedi Knight won, he tried to make Embo talk on the account of who was paying him to do all this. "_Go ahead Jedi, torture me all you like, I don't break deals with those who pay me good money._" Embo said.

"I'm not going to torture you Embo and since I know you wouldn't tell even if I did, can you at least direct me to who killed Ahsoka? Maybe they can tell me who is paying you to kill the Senators and paid you to help with the riot that held the Jedi Order hostage," Anakin asked. "_Well, my contract didn't say anything against giving away that kind of information. Asajj Ventress is her name and last time I saw her, she was making herself at home on Coruscant._" Embo answered.

Anakin couldn't believe the name he heard: Ventress, of all people, was the one responsible for the death of his Padawan Ahsoka. It would most definitely explain the lightsaber marks more than anything else would. "Thank you Embo, I will go find where she's hiding and hopefully make her talk," Anakin said. _Hopefully, since she's only loyal to the highest bidder now, she'll tell me who paid her to do it_ he thought but didn't say.

He still thought it as he tracked down the last known residence of his former nemesis in the Lower Levels of Coruscant. It was when a masked warrior lunged from the shadows and attacked him with two red lightsabers that he was caught off guard. He had not sensed this one nor did he have enough time to prepare for a counterattack until after his lightsaber collided with the other two. However, he caught the look of the hilts at the corner of his eyes and knew immediately that he was dealing with Asajj Ventress.

"What are you doing? You know you're not officially my enemy anymore!" he asked Ventress immediately after pushing her off him. "Do you honestly think that just because Dooku betrayed me, I'm going to forget what you have also done to me? How pitiful is that even for a Jedi," she answered.

"Can you at least tell me who paid you to kill Ahsoka and keep the riot going as long as it did?" he pressed. "If I did that, I wouldn't be good on my word now would I? Even after I end a deal with someone, I never share information about them to an old enemy," she snapped. _Looks like I'm going to have to be nasty, sorry Snips but I have to find out who was behind your death_ Anakin thought before replying with a volley of Djem So strokes.

As usual, Ventress was forced to back down from it and even made it so that she could turn her two lightsabers into the one saberstaff. Even when that happened, Anakin pressed with his attack and he found that soon she was retreating even with the aid of the saberstaff strikes. When she presented her ability to use Jar'Kai and switch to the saberstaff and back, he was impressed. But he was not fazed now that he had an understanding of both styles and had an opportunity to wrap some loose cords around her.

Once he did that, he proceeded to use the electricity in them to torture her, the pain immense beyond even his own comprehension. When he couldn't bare to see any more of it, he dropped her, uncurled the wires, and repeated his question of who paid her. At first, Ventress couldn't say anything since the pain was still relatively overwhelming for her as it would've been for Skywalker himself. Then she started trying to talk though the pain still impeded her oratory, at first.

"Fine Skywalker, if you want the name of the man who hired me so bad... his name is Lom Pyke. He owns the corporation known as Pyke Family, who you may know by their infamous spice runs to the Outer and Mid Rim territories. Though he has properties across the galaxy, he should still be here on Coruscant as I finished talking with him on his home channel, not too long ago," she said, huffing. _Lom Pyke... the name sounds familiar but why would he want to create a riot and trap the Jedi at the Temple?_ Anakin asked himself.

"Thank you Ventress and sorry it came to this, I didn't want to do it but you gave me no other choice. You know that, right?" he said aloud before leaving. He knew where Lom Pyke's fortress was from a previous visit he and Kenobi had paid to the Pyke seven months ago. The man had denied any accusations that the spice sold with his patent had been earned illegally to the point of anger.

Luckily, Anakin recorded Ventress' confession so that he had evidence to show Pyke that he was not kidding around this time. If Pyke cooperated and told Anakin everything, he might be let off with a lighter penalty than he would get if he didn't. _That scum is probably one of the most fraudulent bastards in the galaxy after the Hutts and now Ahsoka's dead because of him_ Anakin reminded himself with anger festering in his heart and mind.******  
**

**Plo Koon examined the **tomb that had been used for Ahsoka Tano's ceremonial burial after the festivities were over. Everyone else was probably asleep or meditating by this time except for Skywalker, who had gone off to find out who killed Ahsoka and who hired them to do so. It was a good time to be alone, beside the tomb of one of his favorite people in the galaxy though she was gone. Having left his lightsaber back at his chamber, he figured it would be best to have some parting words for his Little Soka.

"Koh-toh-yah Little Soka, I suppose being dead, you won't be able to greet me back as once you did," he began, trying to joke and lighten up the situation a little bit. But he sensed there was no getting around it so he decided to just say it as it was. "When I first saw you, Little Soka, I was baffled by the powerful aura I sensed in the Force. I looked down and I saw you which surprised me beyond all end as you turned out to be the source of the aura.

"At first, I was a little too shocked to do much else except kneel down so that you could get closer to eye level with me. And when you reached up to touch my mask, it immediately felt as though I was seeing my daughter or my niece attempting to do the same thing. When the village elders told me that you were the one they had seen performing feats only related to the Force, I was surprised. Do I feel disappointed that your powers might not have metamorphosed into what they could've been?

"No, I am happy because they transform into everything I would've expected them to be even though I must admit that your assignment to Skywalker caught me off guard. Not that he wasn't to be trusted with a Padawan but he was much better doing things alone or with Kenobi than with a stranger. But as he gradually warmed up to you, I knew you would shine under his teachings even if you had adopted his lack of subtlety as I pointed out during the mission to find Boba Fett. You were brave, heroic, beautiful, and most importantly, you never lost the purity of your heart even while under him.

"If I had had a daughter during any time, I would adopt you because there is no one in the Order nearly as unique, mature, and intelligent as you were in your final hours. How many other Padawans would have faced down Asajj Ventress if they had known there was no way to escape her? Who else would have thought to stall her until Senator Amidala's maiden arrived and took the chip from you that Skywalker had given you when they weren't Masters like myself? But even with all this, I fear Skywalker will take your death too hardly with drastic consequences.

"I fear that whoever killed you did it because of a higher power that works against the Order and possibly seeks out downfall as Dooku does now. What this greater power might be, I have no idea and when it will reveal itself is an even bigger mystery. Nonetheless, I fear it carries a vengeance more ancient than any we have faced before: the vengeance of a power older and more terrifying than Sith. Will we survive its wrath or be crushed into oblivion?

"I have no idea but the memory of how you might act in face of this new power gives me courage to stand against it when it shows itself. While you were alive, I hope the memory of me helped you through your most challenging struggles as well," he concluded, the last comment being his most bitter. Then he bade farewell, tears likely to have flown from his eyes if he had stayed a moment longer than he did.

Ahsoka truly was like a little daughter he never had and though Skywalker would likely never know it, her death had hit Master Plo the hardest. But as he continued to walk back to his chambers, he felt a dark power enter the funeral chambers of Little Soka. He hesitated, debating whether or not to return to the chamber and find out what it was and neutralize it if he could. Then it disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived, relieving his worries that something was transpiring in the chamber.

Hopefully, it wasn't that dark power I mentioned doing something forbidden to the body of Little Soka he thought. But to his satisfaction, nothing had indeed transpired in those dark chambers.


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Chapter Twenty**

Lom Pyke was following through his usual routine of drinking a glass of wine when his comlink beeped furiously, demanding his attention away from his thoughts. _Who or what could possibly be desiring to bother me right now?_ he asked himself, annoyed that he was bothered this late at night. He was still outlying his part in the assault plans that Darth Maul had revealed to him, which included attacking banks and major food supply areas, when this bother came. "Your Highness, a Jedi by the name of Anakin Skywalker is demanding access into your facilities.

"We have attempted to turn him away but he has begun destroying our soldiers and is currently headed for you in a heated rampage," a Kuat-designed commander unit told him in its transmission. _A heated rampage? That is unlike a Jedi Knight to be coming to the place of an unarmed man in anger_ Pyke thought. Then he remembered that Asajj had reported killing a Togruta Jedi Padawan named Ahsoka Tano.

When that thought came across his mind, it occurred to him that Ahsoka just might have been Skywalker's Padawan before her untimely demise. And since Anakin was known for sometimes letting his emotions get the better of him, Lom knew he was in danger. "Do what you can to stall him for as long as you can, I want to have a little surprise ready for him by the time he arrives to my quarters. However, regardless of what happens, know that you droids have played your part well and without fail as I hoped you would," Lom said and meaning it too.

Ever since he first got them, the Kuat-designed droid soldiers had been nothing short of impressive even compared to the Separatist soldiers. _They'll never hold against a Jedi forever but with their numbers, they could stall him until I'm ready for him to come in. Before he destroys me, Skywalker will know the fury of a man defending his homestead from intruders_ Lom vowed. Unlocking a few combination pads, he pressed codes that would ready his room for the incoming wrath of the Jedi Knight who, powerful as he was, had tunnel vision even when compared to his peers.

The blades hanging on strings in the ceiling were ready for dropping at any time, the lasers on the walls were ready to slice through flesh when Anakin came through the door. But his favorite one, the hidden turrets in his desk which opened up to reveal them to a guest, were ready to blast him down fast. All he had to do now was sit and wait for Skywalker to make his way through the droids sent to defend the fortress and die upon encountering one of the traps. _The Jedi have bothered me once too often to avoid paying a price for further intrusion of my daily operations!_ Lom thought with a snarl.******  
**

******Vizsla had to admit **that the pleasure house was pretty nice considering that it was underwater. He didn't like the idea of it being attacked and floodwaters wiping them out should the windows be shattered. But Lom had already assured him that twenty-six megaton blast doors reinforced in the event of damage and ray shields protected the windows during a security breach such as an army invading. With that said and a few days passing since they first arrived, Vizsla allowed himself to feel comfortable and secure, something he hadn't felt since he was officially Governor of Concordia.

That still left him with just one minor detail to take care of: sorting out the details of what had happened between him and Bo-Katan back on Zanbar. Ever since they had sex that night, she had been more comfortable being around him though she made sure to keep this secret when around other people. Maul sneered at Vizsla whenever the two of them passed by each other, indicating that he knew about his relationship with Bo, their measures to prevent it notwithstanding. Savage would always pass by without actually looking at either one of them and Xizor chuckled whenever he caught the two lovers.

_ Guess nothing's going to be secret in this organization very long, no matter how much any of us may like it otherwise_ Vizsla said. He had accepted Bo's suggestion that they not go public with their feelings but would unleashed the full depth of them in private whenever possible. Luckily, they had managed to pull that off just fine and had made love many times since that very first time on Zanbar. And now, as he looked out a window that exposed him to an excellent view of Mon Calamari and the life in it, it seemed she had a similar idea to him as she also approached the window and looked out.

However, unlike how she normally was, he noticed she had not taken to wearing her armor as much and instead, she was wearing a white toga with gold linings and brooches near the shoulders. "Do you like it, sir?" she asked when she caught him staring at her in it. "Oh yeah sure, but you know that's not what I like most about you, right?" he asked. She nodded, having figured out what he did like most after he confessed his feelings for her.

"Enjoying the view?" she asked as she followed his lead in gazing out the window. "It's fine, a lot of creatures stirring right about now and I don't have a name for any of them. If we had been on Concordia or even Mandalore, I could tell you the names of the flora and fauna for hours on end," he admitted. "This is a nice change from being on places like Concordia or even Corlac," she agreed, nodding.

"Do you feel ready to take back Mandalore for Death Watch and the ancient warrior ways?" he inquired. He knew she was loyal and would follow him to the end but if he began to lax in his goals, so would she. "You know I am as ready as you are to take charge of Mandalore and give it back to those honorable days of our people," she replied. "A good answer, my dear, a very good answer indeed," he said with a smile.

"Do you say because you're afraid of something?" she asked. "Me, afraid? No, I just have to wonder: Maul knows of us and I wonder if he'll use that against me when Mandalore is finally ours. Sure we might have done a similar thing to him had the situation been reversed but he is a more loose cannon than we are," he answered.

"Don't be afraid my love, I will never bow to an outsider of Mandalorian culture and society. You have my word on that account," she said as she caressed his cheek with one hand. He grabbed that hand, wanting to keep its warmth on his face for a moment longer, then he kissed her. She smiled when their lips parted and asked if he wanted to have fun later tonight.

"I probably should go talk with Maul and Savage, make sure the battle plans are clear in my head when Lom Pyke finally gets back. Soon as he decides whether he can come or not, we'll get going," Vizsla answered. "After that then?" she asked, winking. "I'll see what I can do but I definitely do want to," he answered, smiling in appreciation.

She kissed him on the cheek and in return, he gave her a light tap on her buttocks which seemed to excite her all the more. With thoughts of love in mind, he hadn't prepared for Xizor stating that there was a problem. "What problem could there be? The plan is flawless, is it not?" Vizsla asked.

"Were it not for the fact that we weren't counting on the Jedi attacking Pyke's fort on Coruscant, yes. Specifically a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker, who as you may know, is an associate of Kenobi," Xizor answered. _Has Kenobi caught onto us or is Skywalker acting without any knowledge?_ Vizsla asked, frightened for what that could imply. "When did he make us aware of this?" he asked aloud.

"Oh, he just sent us an emergency transmission, barely more than a standard hour ago or so. I get the feeling he won't be surviving Skywalker's rampage at least without losing many of his Coruscanti assets," the Falleen answered. _Can't imagine why not_ Vizsla noted mentally. Both of them decided to go and alert Maul and Savage about this, the likelihood they knew this being very low.******  
**

******Lom was immensely surprised **by the rage that drove Anakin Skywalker to cut down his Kuat droids and arrive ever closer to his room of operations. _The boy has no class when he's hacking down droids, it's a wonder he's last this long in the war_ Pyke thought, hating every moment of this. Then it happened: Skywalker's lightsaber plunged into the door and Pyke knew it was only a matter of time before Anakin cut through and the traps needed to be activated. He made sure his finger was on the button of the first one, ready to destroy the boy at any moment and without pause.

When the boy cut out the circle in the door, he stopped after climbing through it and glared Lom down. "You think you can scare me with a mere glare and an ignited lightsaber laddie? I have lived two hundred lives and I have faced much worse than you!" Pyke shouted before pressing the glowing button. Anakin somehow figured out a means to escape because he raised his lightsaber, ducked his body beneath and above the lasers where he needed to.

Smiling, Pyke pressed the button that would get the blades released from the ceiling hold and watched as they fell. His smile faded when they missed the Jedi, who managed to dodge a couple and use the Force to stop some others that would have sliced him in two. "You're hardly any fun Skywalker but not to worry, I have just one more trick that should drive you out of my home," Pyke said, childlike. He moved to press the button when suddenly he felt a pressure on his neck as though Skywalker had grabbed him when he didn't.

"Not another move until you start talking about why you caused those riots!" Anakin shouted, his Force Choke use growing more prevalent by the second. "Torture me, kill me if you like but I'll never talk: I'm protected by a greater power, after all," he said between forced breaths. Skywalker looked puzzled by that comment and expressed as much when he demanded to know what Pyke was talking about. That was before he made the mistake of letting go of Pyke's neck so that he could talk better.

Then Pyke pressed the button too quickly for the Jedi to stop him and he watched as his desk opened on one side to reveal a dozen chain guns. Each of these weapons were specifically designed to fire a thousand rounds per standard minute, more than enough shots to finish the Knight off. But Anakin surprised him even further when he deflected all of the lasers with the Force rather than his lightsaber. While holding them off with one hand, he used his lightsaber to disable each and every single one of the chain guns which then stopped firing rounds due to permanent deactivation.

"I've had enough of your trickery, tell me why who or what is this higher power you mention and why you created the riots?" Anakin demanded, his voice booming. "I don't have to report anything to you, moron! And besides, do you have any idea how much each of those droids would normally cost me were not for the deal I struck? More than enough to bankrupt your precious Jedi Order, that's how much!" Pyke shouted, unafraid of the supposed Chosen One's prowess in the Force.

More Kuat droids came in and while Anakin managed to destroy them with relative ease, Pyke used the distraction to withdraw a hidden pistol. The Jedi Knight turned just in time to see Pyke aiming to shoot him in the head though he deflected the lasers with the ease of his lightsaber. Unfortunately, he also used his proficiency to reflect one that hit Pyke in the gut, a fatal shot for his species. _Serves you damned right, greedy scum_ Anakin thought but didn't say.

As Pyke fell, Skywalker rushed over and caught his head just before it hit the hard marble floor beneath their feet. "Alright now, death is pretty close for you, spice dealer. Does it feel bad enough for you to start talking?" he asked. "Hardly, I nearly died halfway into my existence and it felt exactly like this," Pyke answered.

Though the Jedi guessed it was through the same means, he didn't say as much in the hope that it wouldn't discourage his victim from talking. "Who or what is this higher power and why did they have you start the riot? My Padawan is dead because of a mercenary you paid named Asajj Ventress," he pressed. "Ah so that was your Padawan," Pyke coughed, death circling him now.

"Yes and I need to know who wanted you to do what led to her death," Anakin replied, nodding. "A new force is rising, one that will consume the Republic and the Separatists and spit what remains back out for its dominion of the galaxy. You will never be victorious, the Day of the Red Sun approaches, there will be blood before the end and my master will be victorious," Pyke said, senseless. "Calm down pal, I just need a name before you depart this universe for the next," Anakin retorted.******  
**

"Hail... the warrior of red and black... hail his brother. Their conquest will begin soon... you're all going to die more violently than I have," Pyke shouted. Then he exhaled for the final time and his body fell out of the Jedi Knight's arms, purple blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. Anakin rose up, regretting that he had killed the Pyke now that his anger simmered and died with the man.

As criminal has deeds had been and as much as he deserved to die especially after living so long, Anakin was unsettled by the reference to a warrior in red and black who had a brother. What was he going to tell Obi-Wan when he would inevitably ask him about what he found? This meant that his old enemy, Darth Maul, had survived the crash on Florumm along with his brother Savage. Their worst fears, regardless of whether or not it was a personal matter for Obi-Wan were confirmed.

But what would the Council say? Surely they would believe that Pyke was just babbling nonsense as he lied dying but to Anakin, he appeared very cohesive when he spoke. _By the Force, what I am wondering is how Maul survived and how Pyke heard of him. Could it be possible that Maul went to him immediately after the Florumm incident and got patched up?_ Anakin thought to himself.

Then he considered a report he had heard shortly after Florumm that Polis Massa, a medical center in the Outer Rim and not far from Florumm, had been mysteriously attacked. Could that have been them and if so, why would they attack a medical center when they themselves needed help? Unless the asteroid didn't have what they needed and they decided to head somewhere else instead which would make sense. But even going on that theory, where would they go and more importantly, how did they convince the medics residing in that place to help them?

******Maul surveyed the damage **of the Pyke residence on Coruscant, where Lom had last been. While he honestly had agreed that the plan they had for conquering Mandalore had been nearly flawless, he hadn't counted on this one being one of the few flaws. Lom's death would be a setback unless they acted quickly and without any hesitation on the part of the participants. "Xizor, who would be the best ally to consolidate with after Pyke and Black Sun?" Maul asked.

At first, Xizor could not answer that as he had to shuffle through the list on the datapad he had before him. Then he found it and told Maul who it would be: the Council of the Hutts on Nal Hutta themselves. "Those slugs are our next priority?" Maul asked, surprised he would have to speak with them. "Yes but fortunately, Pyke secured reservations for travel to Nal Hutta under his name before he died which you could exploit for yourself," Xizor replied.

_ I think I will do that_ Maul thought to himself. "Now Maul, I hate to not be in on the conquest of Mandalore, I must inform you that I cannot be present on the day of the attack. I have pressing business concerning the reestablishment of Black Sun as a resident power of the criminal galaxy. If I do not secure Black Sun's place, even the Kuat foundries won't be protected for your keeping," Xizor added.

"Go ahead and do what you must, Death Watch, my brother, and I will proceed without you. Just be sure to have the droids we will take shipped to Concordia and wired to our commands before you go about your business," Maul replied, nodding in understanding. "I am far ahead of you on that account, all you need to is go and talk with the Hutts, regardless of the outcome. They will reestablish your presence on Concordia and when you arrive, they will be ready for the final push," Xizor said.

"Excellent, then consider our business concluded for now. When I have need of you and Black Sun's resources, I will request renewal of our contract," Maul stated. Xizor bowed and made for a shuttle he ordered to take him off Mon Calamari, leaving Maul alone with his brother for once. "What do you think of our allies, Savage?" Maul asked.

"Now that the Death Watch leaders have become lovey-dovey, Xizor has left to secure our holdings on Kuat, and Lom Pyke is dead? Aside from the lovey-dovey part, they have worked to our advantage thus far," Savage answered. "I had told you before that Death Watch had honor and wouldn't know of our intentions until it is too late. I'm beginning to think I was wrong on the honor part," Maul said.******  
**

"It's hardly your fault brother, when honor is present, love is always sure to follow those who have honor," Savage told him. "And you would know this, how?" Maul asked. "Once we had a younger and weaker brother named Feral, who I protected throughout our childhood. When Ventress came to practice the Dathomir mating ritual, both of us participated only for me to win.

"After my transformation into what you see now, my first order was to destroy Feral," Savage answered. Probably for the better that you removed a weak link in the chain of our line Maul thought. "You were right, honor is another weakness but one that leads to various others. Nonetheless, Vizsla and his lovebird will still prove useful to us.

"Besides, don't the greatest love stories have a tragic ending?" Maul inquired with a smile. Savage also smiled at the thought that gave him, so moving was the prospect of slowly strangling the girl while she watched her man be killed by Maul. Then, when she began to weep in loss for her executed lover, Savage would snap her little neck under his massive hands. Nothing too hard about that and nothing slow about that either though it was all he needed to put a smile on his face.

"As unfortunate as it is, we must wait a little longer for what is rightfully ours. Not to worry though, it won't be much longer before Mandalore is ours, and both Kenobi and Dooku fall before us," Maul assured his brother. "They will suspect treachery on their part, least the girl will," Savage warned. "By the time she has any power to act on her suspicions, it will already be too late and they will be confirmed; besides, _we_ are the masters of the Shadow Collective, not them!" Maul snarled quietly.

Savage nodded in understanding of what his brother was saying with their mastery of the Shadow Collective. They were the ones who came up with the idea, the ones who had recovered from the skirmish on Florumm, searched the galaxy for allies, and brought them together. It was Maul and Savage alone who had the right to take all the benefits of the Shadow Collective if they really wanted to. Their right to leave nothing for their allies but a bunch of pathetic droid foundries that created the soldiers of doom for the Jedi and their Sith enemies.

"That Xizor fellow has me the most worried though, you gave him the authority to control all the Kuat foundries for his own designs as well as ours. What if he decides to withhold them from us in the event of treachery on our part?" Savage asked. Maul chuckled, knowing that Savage was right but being glad that he had a plan to face down even that threat. "I put Black Sun into disarray by killing its leader before, I can do it again," he answered.

"But they recovered after you went there, even if it has been with our help. That's the mistake you made with sparing the rest of Black Sun back then," Savage insisted. "I won't repeat it," Maul said.


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

**Chapter Twenty-One**

"Why Lom Pyke was killed, I will never understand. What his last words were are even worse than the prospect of his death," Anakin said. "What were they?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin was before the Council and making his final report as to the investigation of Ahsoka Tano.

He had already told them about how Embo had revealed the information during his attempt on Senator Amidala's life. The Council was also informed of how Anakin tracked down Ventress and persuaded her to tell him that Lom Pyke had hired her for the job. His report concluded thus far with how Anakin had tracked down Pyke and fought through his forces. "The droids he used had the stamp of Kuat but were encased in Mandalorian Iron except at the stomach, joints, and necks," he added.

When asked he knew, he stated that he had learned by attempting to cut down his first droid in normal fashion to no avail. The fact that the named weaknesses were there was a chance discovery that he made sure to note. It was also brought to light that they could be defeated with severe blunt force to such areas as the head and chest like with a human. Their blasters were not made of the Iron which probably meant that whoever provided the ore was not a mass-producer.

"What were Pyke's words before he died? Was there anything he said that stood out to you?" Windu asked after Anakin explained everything else. Anakin nodded and when Windu pressed him to reveal what he had said, Anakin hesitated in the knowledge of how this would impact Obi-Wan. "He talked of a third force rising to sweep away the Republic and the Separatists," he began.

Murmurs spread but Yoda hushed them immediately so that Anakin could continue without being disturbed. "He said that a Day of the Red Sun was approaching and that we were all going to die. What he said next, may come as a shock to you, to all of you," Anakin said, looking at Obi-Wan during the last comment. "Anakin, you're beginning to frighten me, what are you trying to imply?" Obi-wan inquired after seeing the look.

"He said, 'Hail the warrior of red and black, hail his brother'. Then he vowed that we were all going to die more violently than could have been possible before. He died after that and I swear to you that's all I have to say on the matter of his death," Anakin answered. The Council was dead silent, aghast at what they had just heard but Obi-Wan looked so much so that his skin paled four tones.

"It's just as I feared: Maul and Savage have returned. I told you all that they were not dead, that they didn't just disintegrate when their ship crashed on Florumm!" he shouted after some silence. Anakin gulped, knowing how personal this was for Obi-Wan and wishing the words had not been ordered by Pyke.

"Pyke said Maul was a third force rising to sweep us away and rule the galaxy. That means he and the Sith brothers were not alone in their operations. They probably have allies elsewhere who might be adding to their power whilst Pyke added to their wealth," Windu observed aloud. "Revealed himself again, Maul has; know where he will strike, we do not," Yoda admitted.

_ That means you're just going to sit and do nothing while he takes whatever planets he wants by force_ Anakin thought but didn't say. "Should the Chancellor be informed of these revelations?" he asked aloud. At first, Windu and Yoda looked at each other like neither was sure of that but then they turned back and nodded in response to the younger Jedi. "His reaction may give us a clue as to why he ordered the initial efforts to find Maul called off in the first place," Windu added.

Anakin bowed and made to leave, having nothing more to say on the matter than he had already been saying for the last hour or so. Obi-Wan sat back, rubbing his face with his hands and particularly his eyes since he felt like crying. This was the second time that Maul had slipped under the Jedi radar only to come back with a vengeance sometime later. What this also meant was that the death of Qui-Gon Jinn was twice thought avenged only to be twice disproved with the resilience of the Sith.

It also meant that when Adi Gallia was thought to be resting in peace, she was probably rolling in her grave, demanding that justice be done. Thousands of lives, taken by the Clone Wars which one could say came indirectly as a result of Maul's actions on Naboo twelve years before, did so as well. And it will someday be up to the Council to decide how they will answer for their actions during this affair with Darth Maul. _Whether I like to admit it or not, the riots have acted to prove that the people expect a better job of us all_ Kenobi thought to himself.******  
**

******Dooku could hardly believe **the input that Lord Sidious had provided him from the last meeting of the Jedi. It explained the Kuat foundries falling into the hands of Black Sun as well as Black Sun's interest in them to begin with. As if that wasn't bad enough, it also served to explain why the Pyke Family had withdrawn their support of the Separatist cause shortly before the death of Lom. And finally, it explained why Death Watch, once a slumbering group of Mandalorians, was now restless and ready to move.

"What is to be done of the matter, milord?" Dooku asked. "For now, we must be patient. Though Mandalore is the leader of two-thousand neutral systems and I'd hate to lose it to them, there isn't much we can do for now. However, something can be done about the Kuat factories being in their hands rather than ours: send that fleet I had you reserve to Mustafar, we will start with the best one," Sidious answered.

"After that is taken care of in succession with the rest of the Kuat droid foundries, what then?" Dooku inquired. "When we have succeeded there, we will then wait for Maul and Savage to make their move and I will personally end their pitiful lives," Sidious replied. "With all due respect Master, I helped Savage become who he is. Perhaps we can both go to destroy them and I will take care of him while you destroy his brother?" Dooku suggested.

"If Maul has taught his brother well enough, Savage will be far too powerful for you. Plus unlike you, Savage lacks the control and the cunning that drives our cause. He is a relentless brute and his brother slightly better in that he possesses intelligence and literacy I gave him," Sidious replied. Dooku nodded, understanding that the real monstrosity was of Sidious' design gone awry and not his own.

"I will contact General Grievous and have him begin destroying the Kuat foundries immediately," he said aloud. Though I would if I could, there is much that I am needed for here on Serenno, the politics being the least of it he said to himself. "Good then for now, our business is concluded. I shall contact you again when I have discovered their location and struck them down," Sidious said before his hologram faded.

How the brothers survived their skirmish with Kenobi was beyond even Dooku's understanding. But it was how they had managed to contact Black Sun, the Pyke Family, and Death Watch with intent of an alliance was an even bigger mystery. Now, they had amassed more than enough to begin introducing themselves as a third faction of the Clone Wars. Not to mention, they could rally all peoples of the galaxy who felt naught but malcontent and hatred for the both CIS and Republic.

They would be the voice that systems caught in between and even the Neutral Delegation might have needed as far as military jurisdiction was concerned. If the neutral systems did learn about the brothers and their intent for destroying Republic and Separatist alike, would they join their insane cause? Many systems in that category bore a grudge against one or both of the great organizations and might be motivated by desire, something Maul knew he could tap on in abundance. Then he decided to distract himself from his thoughts by contacting Grievous and giving him the briefing.

Once the cyborg had registered all that Dooku had tasked him with, he went to go about it. Grievous had come in handy during the eradication of the Nightsister on Dathomir though he could do nothing about the escape of Mother Talzin from that massacre. Still he wondered: would Grievous have what it took to complete this task and remain out of the eyes of the Republic? And if he couldn't stay away from them during this, would they agree to a truce and allow him to continue while they did something else?

It would make sense as both governments were threatened by Maul's existence as well as that of his little conspiracy. But as Dooku suddenly observed, he didn't think Maul was able to think this up entirely on his own. He had to have help of some sort and help that allowed him to persuade these organizations to join him in a mutual cause. _Something more powerful than Maul's conspiracy gives speed to its time of offense, something that sets its will against us_ Dooku thought silently.******  
**

******Vizsla and Katan had **to admit that the idea of consulting the Hutts now that they already had the Pykes and Black Sun assisting them was a little odd. Didn't they already have what they needed for the conquest of Mandalore or was Maul planning something bigger? He did mention forming an Underworld of sorts through Mandalore but why would he want to do that?

Both Mandalorians had their sights set only on reclaiming their homeworld and ruling it in the same manner as those who came before the Duchess. Why did Maul have sights on having them rule on a galactic scale when they would be perfectly content with having Mandalore? "Perhaps there's more to be gained by having the entire galaxy as the playing ground for training people. The more recruits we can get to the way of Mando'a the better, no?" Bo asked.

"That is a double-edged sword that has cost our ancestors dearly in the past few millenniums. While it does yield such benefits as a greater turnout of those practicing Mandalorian skills, it bit us hard too. Look at the Mandalore of Darth Revan's days for instance, look how that thinking turned out for him. We have ambitions but we have very humble ambitions and we don't wish to be involved in this war anymore than we need to be," he answered.

"I don't think Maul is going to give us much of a choice when we finally do reclaim Mandalore for ourselves. His sights are much too high for him to just simply end the alliance with the takeover of one planet when he could have millions," she warned. "When the day comes and Mandalore is ours, Maul and Savage's dead bodies will be piled alongside the Duchess and that'll end the matter," he replied. "You really think you can kill a master practitioner of the Sith ways and his apprentice just like that?" she inquired.

When he asked what that was supposed to mean she was blunt but polite in her explanation. "Dooku gave you the scar on your cheek before you could even touch him. He spared you because he thought you unworthy of an honorable death. What makes you think Maul will have the same sentiment when and if you two do fight for control of Mandalore?" she said in her explanation.******  
**

Vizsla had to admit she was right: for all his deceit and his wickedness, Dooku had manners and cunning whereas Maul was a little more raw. Though both men were very intelligent, Vizsla had a feeling that Dooku might have been far more useful for political dealings than Maul was. "It doesn't matter now, we'll be headed for Mandalore and worrying about that soon enough, I promise," he said. The pool in which they were having this conversation relaxed them, set their tensions at ease.

And while both could honestly say their eyes were on the prize, they couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't discovered the balance between ultimate goal and personal impulse sooner. It didn't matter now and when Bo swam over to sit next to the man she loved, he invited her in. "You think maybe we can get married after this is over, start a family and give rise to a new line?" she asked. "Believe me, your father had that in his agenda for years before the two of us actually met and I think his dream just might be fulfilled," he admitted with smile.

She laughed, knowing that for all his senility, her father certainly had a wisdom about him that was unique to old Mandalorian warriors. He joined her but then broke the laughter by kissing her on the nape of her neck and beginning a chain of romantic ecstasy all too familiar to them. She also kissed him on his shoulder, head, and rubbed her hand upside his back as he took her once more. Had either of the Sith brothers seen this, it wouldn't have served in their interest nor would they enjoy the view.

******Xizor had returned to **Mustafar, pleased to find his holdings nice and secured as he always loved them. "I assure you Prince, there has been no damage to your favorite facility since you left. Although I fear it may not remain that way for very much longer, quite frankly," the woman called Depa Billaba stated. "And what makes you say that?" he asked.

"By now, the Jedi will have picked up on the activities of the Black Sun, Pyke family, and Death Watch. They would have noticed an odd but mutual understanding developed between the three and will wonder whatever for. Assuming Lom Pyke's final words to Skywalker have not been too cryptic for those fools to interpret, that is," she said. Her black hood hid more than half of her face but the movement of her lips combined with her tone of voice was intimidating enough by itself.

"Ah yes, that is a reason to be concerned but may I ask if it's likely the Separatists have also noticed?" he asked. She nodded and stated that they had indeed noticed and it wasn't long before their response arrived here. "And diplomacy is hardly ever their style so we can assume a military mobilization against our well-being. Hardly a surprise to a man such as myself who has seen many different moves on the part of both Sith and Jedi alike to notice hardly a difference," he said.

"You know nothing of the substantial differences between the Jedi and the Sith. As my Mistress would have you understand, the Force isn't to be judged by Light and Dark. Such a prejudice might persuade one to believe that there can be one without the other, far from the truth," she replied. "I take it your Mistress is powerful in her ways and would not like being trifled with," he inquired.

Then he decided that he was curious just to know precisely who this Mistress of Depa's was. How could she know so much about the Force that Yoda would undoubtedly want her dead? It was then that he decided to use his species' natural ability to secrete seductive hormones to persuade her. "And what other things have your Mistress taught you, might I ask?" he asked, feigning desire to know.

"Enough to not be fooled by the secretion of hormones for the intended purpose of seducing me into revealing information!" she hissed as she grasped him in a Force Choke. _How could this one resist? Even at her age, it would take her years to learn how in normal circumstances_ he thought. When she let him go, he was quick to catch his breath and to call off Guri from attempting to kill the fallen Jedi.

"I don't think you would have been a match for her anyway," he added. He knew this would disappoint Guri as she always appreciated a good fight. However, she understood that he still had use for her and wouldn't let her be destroyed just yet, least of all by Depa. "I have also been taught more than enough to be more than capable of leading your forces to victory when the Separatists do come," she added after he had caught his breath.

"Just exactly what were you to the Jedi before you fell to the Dark Side, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked. Though he had heard of Depa Billaba before, he didn't know anything about who she was. "I was once considered one of the wisest and most gifted in the Force by even the Jedi Council and Yoda himself. But that was before I was enlightened to my own insanity and brought to the true nature of the Force... before they betrayed me," she answered.

"Do you desire revenge and thus, aid Maul and Savage alongside your mistress?" he continued. "Though the brothers are part of it, they are hardly the full story. At the moment, I can tell you no more than that," she said before excusing herself. Her reason for doing so was that she was receiving an incoming transmission from her Mistress and would need privacy.

When she secured it, she answered the call and saw the hologram of her Mistress. "Is it time for me to leave and return to Irkalla for the completion of my training, Mistress?" she asked. "No, not yet but the time will come very soon when you will leave the facility forever. Thrawn's little extragalactic enemy has been attempting to burst through the defenses and now seeks entrance elsewhere," Arden answered.

"What can we do to assist him if his defenses do fall through?" Depa inquired. "They will not at this point due to my use of Battle Meditation. However, in order to intercept the Yuuzhan Vong at whatever point they intend to enter the galaxy, we will need to do recruiting of our own. Tell me, are you aware of the Ember of Vahla?" Arden replied to which Depa smiled and stated she was listening.******  
**

**Maul and Savage had **been supervising the preparations for the little trip to the Hutt clan for some time. Now, they called for Pre and Bo to have their soldiers to be ready for their travel to Nal Hutta and the Hutt Council within. "Do you think they will take kindly of our presence there? They're surrounded by bounty hunters and security guards more than willing to die for their share," Vizsla asked.

"Bounty hunters seldom have any code of honor that binds them to any one client for longer than necessary. The security guards will be the only real fight we may face there if the Hutts say no. Though bounty hunters will fight us, they will retreat when faced with defeat even if it means losing their next check," Maul answered. Savage continued to make sure all was ready but Bo's response was somewhat provocative of his wrath.

"Hardly any different from rogue Sith, like yourselves, I imagine?" she asked. Maul chuckled, glad to see that focused as she was on both her love and Mandalore, Bo was still no fool. _She is not to be defined by the normal standards of women; maybe I'll have Savage spare her for his pleasure. He's been looking forward to indulging himself for a long while now, after all_ Maul said.

Aloud, however, he gave a completely different answer that he knew would not settle her down but would shut her up. "We do not work for credits, we possess honor like yourselves whenever it suits our designs. Yes we think mostly of ourselves and the satisfaction of our goals but may I ask how you are different on that account?" he stated. In a huff, she stood erect and looked out into the black void of space, the deep breath before the plunge to hyperspace.

Then they were off, the stars' transformation into beams that combined to form a three-sixty degree tunnel of light signifying it. While Savage and Bo sat down in the passenger seats in the back, Pre and Maul stared on ahead. "When I was a child, I never would have thought this sort of thing was possible," Pre stated. "Why?" Maul asked.

"Because we believed that the ability to move across light was reserved for the gods alone. Guess not all Mandalorian traditions need to be honored when we restore it to its glory," Pre answered. _Hardly an uncommon thing in any society, Mandalorian or other_ Maul noted for future reference. "And you say you'll restore it to its full glories?" he asked aloud.

"Of course, we will restore through restoring its honor and dignity, not by the reinstatement of every last tradition invented," Pre replied. Maul laughed quietly, admiring this man's passion as well as his typical hypocrisies. _Those will be dealt with soon enough_ he promised himself as the trip began. Then he sat back with his brother and decided to meditate on the matter, just to clear his head for now.


	23. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"The Ember of Vahla are dangerous and not to be trusted!" Thrawn warned Arden when he heard her idea. "I know where their homeworld is as Xendor and I were the ones who inspired the original Vahla to form their society with our actions. My husband even went to meet the original leaders themselves and entrusted them with a very special weapon: his hammer, which he created personally. What makes it so special is this: it was forged through a combination of regular metals and the Talisman's powers, making it indestructible to normal weapons of that and any time," she replied.

"I understand your desire to regain your husband's weapon and use it against the Yuuzhan Vong but the Vahla are dangerous. There's no telling whether they'll believe what you have to say or reject you and forcibly turn you around," he stated. "You speak of danger as though you don't think keeping a fallen Jedi and her apprentice around isn't," she snapped. Thrawn shrugged, admitting that was a good point on her part and even smirked at her comeback.

"I will give you a cruiser with a captain and crew to pilot and operate it. It should be large enough to store the entire Vahla with some room to spare," he said. "Why so big a ship as that?" she asked. "The entire Vahla population will want to join you if you know where their original homeworld is and can guide them to it in exchange for fighting for you," he answered.

_ And they will most certainly have increased in numbers rather dramatically since my husband and I sheltered the first dozen or so to ever exist from the Jedi. The prophecy their leader made of my return should come to my advantage when gaining entrance as well_ she thought but didn't say. "You make an excellent and rather valid point as to the population of the Vahla increasing since last I saw them," she said aloud. "And you understand that there are those tribes that might resist you and believe your return to be a sign of their own doom?" he asked.

"Yes I am and those tribes will be the ones so fanatical that they are hypocritical to their own gospel. It's in the nature of almost any religious organization to have followers who eventually become corrupt and turn on the principles they once fought for. The Jedi have done it on too many occasions to count, even before my time," she answered with a nod. "You say that like you believe you know the nature of all sentients down to the need for bodily functions," he said.

"Hardly, I only know what happened to me to be true for many other societies-past and present-that have incorporated religion into their existence. I believe you put it in the best words: when you understand one's culture, you understand how to defeat them. But while that's true, there are some aspects that exist in all cultures that are to be recognized and exploited where necessary to do so," she said. "When will you be needing the cruiser to go and track down the Vahla?" he asked, deciding to draw the subject away from culture for a little bit.

"Soon as you give me a world to go to and you tell me when you think you'll have that cruiser ready," she answered. He smiled, liking her tread of thought and knowing he was probably going to miss having her around. "Are you and your apprentice going to return here after you do what you need to do?" he inquired. He genuinely did hope that she would return with her apprentice, the Battle Meditation doing great things being one of many reasons why.

He also wanted to see the properties of Battle Meld at work since Arden explained it as being hardly any different from Meditation except that you can actually stand and fight with Meld. With the combined strength of both rituals being enacted, Thrawn could repel the Yuuzhan Vong for good. Then he could return to his people as a hero and immediately begin turning his eye toward the known galaxy. It would most certainly be interesting to face an enemy with two faces such as Lord Sidious was in the eyes of the Chiss Admiral.

"That depends on the success of our mission and whether or not we live to tell the tale," she replied. The reply was a bittersweet piece of news but perhaps Thrawn should have expected as much. "If you must know where to find the Ember of Vahl, they have annual gatherings on Glee Anselm to discuss how the search for their homeworld is coming. The time of the Gathering is almost a day or so away so it should be beginning by the time you arrive," he said with a nod of understanding.

"And I suspect your troops will know how to reach Glee Anselm as I most certainly will not?" she asked. "Yes they will, all you need to is be present to learn how we travel to planets for future reference. Plus, when you're finished there, reports indicate that the Yuuzhan Vong are trying something new. They're going to try and go around our defenses by attacking from Malastare, a planet deep within the Mid Rim's Hydian Way," he answered.

"If your troops also have the coordinates for reaching Malastare from Glee Anselm, going there right after recruiting the Vahla should not be difficult," she said. "You can't be serious about that," he stated, more as a statement than a question though that was indicated. "I am: we will pick up as many of the Vahla as will join us and then head for Malastare where we'll wait for that force to come along. Besides, if the Ember of Vahla train warriors in the same manner now as they did when I met them, dealing with this force should be no problem," she replied.

Thrawn shrugged, yielding yet another point in her favor and also remembered that Arden had Battle Meditation and her apprentice had Battle Meld. A good strategy combined with both of those things should see them overcoming the taskforce and much more. But that still left one question in his mind, one that had been gnawing at him practically since he met her. "Do you do this to avenge Xendor or even to honor his memory?" he asked. That stopped Arden in her tracks long enough for her to give the question thought as to how it would be answered.

Just the fact that Thrawn had asked it was enough to make her clench her sword's scabbard hard enough to slightly bend it. It was something she could fix with ease later but she underestimated her own physical strength at this point. Nonetheless, it was the best she could do to keep from drawing it out and using it to kill Thrawn instead of answering the question. "Yes, I do it to avenge him and honor his memory but I also do it to show that the Jedi are not the only group of Force users that can protect people against evil," she answered.

"A message that Maul and Savage are trying to send with their actions combined with the participation of rogue organizations that bear hatred for the Republic and the CIS. Sending out the same message might present you as a fourth side to the war if you're not careful. Or another candidate for a third force if Maul and Savage's Collective falls under and they die," he said. "Which would then make you a fourth or fifth force and the Yuuzhan Vong a fifth or sixth upon both your revelations, depending on what happens; unless you ally yourself with me, that is," she replied with a smile.

"Indeed we do make for a great alliance together, perhaps when you return, we can renew that tie and conquer the galaxy together. It would certainly help you with avenging your husband and paying the Jedi back," he suggested. "Galactic domination was never in my sights and it still isn't. Vengeance against the Jedi, on the other hand, is," she retorted.

He had to admit, she was humble and direct with her sights, far more than any Jedi he had encountered during the Outbound Flight expedition. _Perhaps someday, she'll make for a great wife for me. Assuming she ever moves on from the death of Xendor and lets go of her ring_ he thought. "Your ship will be ready for you in five hours, should be enough time to pack up what you have and prepare to leave, wouldn't you say?" he asked aloud.

"I have not much beyond my sword, my robes, my apprentice, and the Talisman. It won't be even an hour of packing and I can perhaps pass the rest of the time with some meditation. Maybe even a sparring session with those training droids you gave me for practice," she answered. "The greatest warrior is indeed one who always keeps their skills sharpened for battle," he agreed.

"The Jedi preached that one should not go looking for a battle but should be ready for one in any instance. As you can see, they have hardly been practicing that nearly as much as I have been," she said. "Then this is goodbye at least until you return from your adventures?" he asked. She nodded and said that if she wanted to renew her alliance with him, she would make sure to find him back here.

"Be careful about avoiding the Jedi and Dooku's agents wherever possible during your travels. Once you're in the void the Yuuzhan Vong seem to like staying in, that shouldn't be a problem for you. Anonymity may work in your favor and the favor of your allies at least until you make the jump from Malastare into the Void," he stated. Giggling, she turned to leave but not before saying something that made him understand she knew that: "Trust me Admiral, I am very good at hiding behind shadows."

**Author's Note**

Firstly, I would like to extend a thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this first part of a two-part tale that needs telling. Your compliments and remarks have not gone unnoticed, of that make no mistake. Having said that however, I would also like to take the time to briefly thank and commend Revanachist for his reviews and his suggestions for ideas to use in the future. My collaborator and I have been doing much discussion based on those, including such aspects as whether or not we can use your ideas and if so, how.

At this point, I will keep private which ones have been approved or had aspects approved and which ones were not though there was much discussion for both. In the meantime ladies and gentleman, this is it until the week following the release of the Clone Wars Episode "The Lawless" due to come out after this week's episode "Shades of Reason". But when both are released, the release of our own sequel shall be announced but until then, look for announcements for the release of _**Star Wars: Vengeance From The Unknown: Day of The Red Sun**_. Thank you so much for your time and participation, especially to Revanachist; your voices have not been ignored.


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